Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Sells 18,697 Shares of Clearfield, Inc. $CLFD

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD) by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,809 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 18,697 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned about 0.29% of Clearfield worth $1,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted 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 valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Clearfield in the first quarter valued at approximately $131,000. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Clearfield in the second quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Semanteon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Clearfield during the second quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of Clearfield in the second quarter worth approximately $234,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.73% of the company’s stock.

Clearfield Trading Up 2.5%

NASDAQ:CLFD opened at $30.17 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.32. The stock has a market cap of $417.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.02 and a beta of 1.87. Clearfield, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.78 and a 12 month high of $46.76.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.04. Clearfield had a negative net margin of 4.65% and a positive return on equity of 1.07%. The company had revenue of $17.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.55 million. Clearfield has set its Q1 2026 guidance at -0.080-0.000 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 0.480-0.620 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Clearfield, Inc. will post -0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clearfield declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 25th that permits the company to buyback $85.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the communications equipment provider to reacquire up to 22% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Clearfield from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Northland Securities raised shares of Clearfield from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Roth Capital dropped 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. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Clearfield from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Northland Capmk raised Clearfield from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Clearfield presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

Insider Activity at Clearfield

In other news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $30.06 per share, for a total transaction of $300,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,279,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,454,675.84. This trade represents a 0.79% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 17.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Clearfield Company Profile

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.