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

Zacks Research cut shares of Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Clearfield from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Clearfield in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Clearfield from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Northland Securities upgraded Clearfield from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm decreased their target price on shares of Clearfield from $50.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.50.

Clearfield Stock Performance

Shares of Clearfield stock opened at $31.44 on Monday. Clearfield has a one year low of $23.78 and a one year high of $46.76. The company has a market cap of $430.41 million, a P/E ratio of -64.16 and a beta of 1.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $30.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.71.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $34.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.77 million. Clearfield had a positive return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 3.93%.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 analysts predict that Clearfield will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Clearfield declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $85.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the communications equipment provider to reacquire up to 22% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clearfield

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearfield

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CLFD. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Clearfield in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Clearfield by 116.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,882 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clearfield in the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Clearfield in the first quarter worth approximately $131,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Clearfield in the second quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Institutional investors 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.