Principal Financial Group Inc. Invests $799,000 in Clearfield, Inc. $CLFD

Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 23,252 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $799,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.17% of Clearfield as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Clearfield during the second quarter worth approximately $2,096,000. AMH Equity Ltd bought a new position in shares of Clearfield during the 3rd quarter valued at $639,000. White Pine Capital LLC purchased a new position in Clearfield in the 2nd quarter worth $342,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in Clearfield in the second quarter worth $1,009,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Clearfield by 2,046.4% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 17,579 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $763,000 after buying an additional 16,760 shares during the period. 88.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Clearfield news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.06 per share, for a total transaction of $300,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,279,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,454,675.84. This trade represents a 0.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.80% of the company’s stock.

Clearfield Stock Performance

CLFD stock opened at $31.87 on Thursday. Clearfield, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.78 and a 52-week high of $46.76. The company has a market capitalization of $436.30 million, a P/E ratio of -65.04 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $30.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.31.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Clearfield, Inc. will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CLFD. Lake Street Capital lowered their target price on Clearfield from $52.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Clearfield from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Clearfield in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Clearfield from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Clearfield in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

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.