Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on CLFD. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Clearfield in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on shares of Clearfield from $50.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Lake Street Capital decreased their target price on shares of Clearfield from $52.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Clearfield from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Clearfield from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Clearfield Trading Down 3.4%

NASDAQ CLFD opened at $31.40 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.72. Clearfield has a 52 week low of $23.78 and a 52 week high of $46.76. The stock has a market cap of $434.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -64.08 and a beta of 1.94.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. Clearfield had a positive return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 3.93%.The company had revenue of $34.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.77 million. Clearfield has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.480-0.620 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at -0.100–0.020 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Clearfield will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clearfield declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 25th that permits the company to buyback $85.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the communications equipment provider to repurchase up to 22% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Clearfield news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $30.06 per share, with a total value of $300,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman owned 1,279,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,454,675.84. The trade was a 0.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 17.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearfield

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 12,270 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 2,864 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 105,849 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,085,000 after buying an additional 12,205 shares in the last quarter. Drum Hill Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Drum Hill Capital LLC now owns 49,912 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after buying an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its position in shares of Clearfield by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 61,428 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,112,000 after acquiring an additional 3,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Penn Capital Management Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of Clearfield by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 11,335 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 4,570 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.73% of the company’s stock.

About Clearfield

Clearfield, Inc (NASDAQ: CLFD) is a Minneapolis-based company specializing in fiber management products for broadband network deployments. The company’s core offerings include fiber distribution hubs, enclosures, splice trays, patching panels and connectivity accessories designed to simplify installation and maintenance of fiber-optic networks. Clearfield’s modular FieldSmart™ platform provides a scalable approach for service providers, utilities and enterprise organizations looking to expand or upgrade their fiber infrastructure.

Clearfield serves a diverse customer base that includes cable and internet service providers, telecommunications operators, wireless carriers, utilities and municipalities.