Clear Secure's (YOU) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Clear Secure (NYSE:YOU - Free Report) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $40.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on YOU. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Clear Secure in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Clear Secure in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clear Secure has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $28.40.

Clear Secure Price Performance

Shares of YOU stock traded down $0.91 on Wednesday, hitting $17.17. The stock had a trading volume of 6,560,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,581,297. The company's 50 day moving average price is $19.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.73. Clear Secure has a 1 year low of $15.28 and a 1 year high of $27.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.27 and a beta of 1.59.

Clear Secure (NYSE:YOU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.16. The business had revenue of $170.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.56 million. Clear Secure had a net margin of 4.58% and a return on equity of 9.66%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.12) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Clear Secure will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Clear Secure Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. This is a boost from Clear Secure's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Clear Secure's dividend payout ratio is currently 120.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Richard N. Jr. Patterson sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 41,727 shares of the company's stock, valued at $834,540. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 39.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clear Secure

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Clear Secure in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Clear Secure by 86.4% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,509 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Clear Secure during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $68,000. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Clear Secure during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $192,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Clear Secure by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 10,233 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 3,683 shares in the last quarter. 73.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Clear Secure

Clear Secure, Inc operates a secure identity platform under the CLEAR brand name primarily in the United States. Its secure identity platform is a multi-layered infrastructure consisting of front-end, including enrollment, verification, and linking, as well as back-end. The company also offers CLEAR Plus, a consumer aviation subscription service, which enables access to predictable entry lanes in airport security checkpoints, as well as access to broader network; and CLEAR mobile app, which is used to enroll new members and improve the experience for existing members.