Skylands Capital LLC Makes New $645,000 Investment in Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD)

Skylands Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 20,800 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $645,000. Skylands Capital LLC owned about 0.15% of Clearfield as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Easterly Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Clearfield by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,632 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares during the period. Bard Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Clearfield by 6.5% in the third quarter. Bard Associates Inc. now owns 12,220 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Clearfield during the 3rd quarter valued at $578,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its holdings in Clearfield by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 249,087 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $9,704,000 after purchasing an additional 27,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clearfield during the third quarter valued at about $80,000. 88.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Clearfield Trading Down 2.4 %

NASDAQ:CLFD opened at $31.84 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $449.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.54 and a beta of 1.28. Clearfield, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.06 and a 52 week high of $44.83. The company has a quick ratio of 7.41, a current ratio of 10.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $34.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.31.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Clearfield Profile

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.