Royce & Associates LP Boosts Stock Position in Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD)

Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 478,809 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,464 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned 3.39% of Clearfield worth $14,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CLFD. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Clearfield during the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Clearfield during the 3rd quarter valued at $80,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Clearfield by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,297 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Clearfield during the 4th quarter valued at $233,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Clearfield during the 3rd quarter valued at $578,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO John P. Hill sold 16,539 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.26, for a total transaction of $550,087.14. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 189,886 shares in the company, valued at $6,315,608.36. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 17.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Clearfield Trading Up 2.2 %

CLFD opened at $30.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $425.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.79 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 10.57, a quick ratio of 7.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Clearfield, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.94 and a 12 month high of $44.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $34.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.43.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. Clearfield had a negative return on equity of 3.31% and a negative net margin of 5.41%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Clearfield, Inc. will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CLFD. StockNews.com raised Clearfield from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Clearfield in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.75.

About Clearfield

Clearfield, Inc manufactures and sells various fiber connectivity products in the United States and internationally. The company offers FieldSmart, a series of panels, cabinets, wall boxes, and other enclosures; WaveSmart, an optical components integrated for signal coupling, splitting, termination, multiplexing, demultiplexing, and attenuation for integration within its fiber management platform; and active cabinet products.