Skylands Capital LLC Takes Position in Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD)

Skylands Capital LLC bought a new position in Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 20,800 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $645,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CLFD. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Clearfield in the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clearfield during the third quarter worth approximately $80,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Clearfield by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,297 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,656 shares in the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 31.3% in the third quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,632 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774 shares during the period. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Clearfield by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bard Associates Inc. now owns 12,220 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the period. 88.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Clearfield Stock Down 2.4 %

Clearfield stock opened at $31.84 on Monday. Clearfield, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.06 and a 1-year high of $44.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $34.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 10.57 and a quick ratio of 7.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $449.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.54 and a beta of 1.28.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.13) earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Clearfield, Inc. will post -0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clearfield

In other news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $31.00 per share, with a total value of $155,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,266,796 shares in the company, valued at $39,270,676. The trade was a 0.40 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO John P. Hill sold 16,539 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.26, for a total value of $550,087.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 189,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,315,608.36. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.