Fact based stock research
Clearfield (NasdaqGM:CLFD)
US18482P1030
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For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
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Clearfield stock research in summary
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 82 (better than 82% compared with investment alternatives), Clearfield (Communications Equipment, USA) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of Clearfield are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 35 (worse than 65% of alternatives). But they show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 93) and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 74, which means below-average debt burdens). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 82, is a strong buy recommendation based on Clearfield's financial characteristics. Investors looking for growth and low financial risk may find this stock attractive. While the company Clearfield exhibits low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 35), which means that the stock price is rather high, it also demonstrates above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 93). This is a typical case, as high-growth companies are often expensive. Good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 74) are a double-edged sword: if the company continues growing, low debt limits shareholder returns. But if the company increases its debt, it will also increase risk. In other words, this is an investment on the safer side, despite the above-average price (low value). Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more
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360° Viewnew| Country | USA |
| Industry | Communications Equipment |
| Index | NASDAQ |
| Size class | Small |
27-Feb-2025. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.
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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.
Research History: Clearfield
| RESEARCH HISTORY | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 3 |
|
32 |
|
33 |
|
35 |
|
| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 91 |
|
13 |
|
93 |
|
93 |
|
| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 96 |
|
100 |
|
70 |
|
74 |
|
| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 97 |
|
57 |
|
78 |
|
new |
|
| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 83 |
|
47 |
|
90 |
|
new |
|
Combined financial peformance in Detail
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 82 (better than 82% compared with investment alternatives), Clearfield (Communications Equipment, USA) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of Clearfield are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 35 (worse than 65% of alternatives). But they show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 93) and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 74, which means below-average debt burdens). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 82, is a strong buy recommendation based on Clearfield's financial characteristics. Investors looking for growth and low financial risk may find this stock attractive. While the company Clearfield exhibits low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 35), which means that the stock price is rather high, it also demonstrates above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 93). This is a typical case, as high-growth companies are often expensive. Good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 74) are a double-edged sword: if the company continues growing, low debt limits shareholder returns. But if the company increases its debt, it will also increase risk. In other words, this is an investment on the safer side, despite the above-average price (low value). Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more
| RESEARCH HISTORY | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 3 |
|
32 |
|
33 |
|
35 |
|
| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 91 |
|
13 |
|
93 |
|
93 |
|
| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 96 |
|
100 |
|
70 |
|
74 |
|
| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 91 |
|
36 |
|
80 |
|
82 |
|
Value Metrics in Detail
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 35 (worse than 65% compared with alternatives), Clearfield shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Clearfield. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 79 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 79% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Clearfield's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 60, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 60% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than for 53% of alternatives (only 47% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than for 99% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive compared with the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 35, is a hold recommendation based on Clearfield's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high concerning expected revenues, the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting Group or BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than distribute it to shareholders through dividends, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is especially important in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more
| VALUE METRICS | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S) | ||||||||
| PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S) | 19 |
|
29 |
|
42 |
|
47 |
|
| PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E) | ||||||||
| PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E) | 15 |
|
77 |
|
79 |
|
79 |
|
| PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book) | ||||||||
| PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book) | 18 |
|
62 |
|
58 |
|
60 |
|
| DIVIDEND YIELD | ||||||||
| DIVIDEND YIELD | 1 |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE | 3 |
|
32 |
|
33 |
|
35 |
|
Growth Metrics in Detail
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 93 (better than 93% compared with alternatives) for 2025, Clearfield shows one of the highest growth dynamics in its industry. Investors also speak of high momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Clearfield. Sales Growth has a value of 79 which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow more than 79% of its competitors. Profit Growth with a value of 81 and Capital Growth with a rank of 85 means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow both profits and invested capital more than of its competitors. But Stock Returns has only a rank of 47, which means that stock returns have recently been below 53% of alternative investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 93, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Clearfield has only one below-average growth indicator, the stock returns. This is probably the least reliable growth indicator, because it measures company and investor expectations at the same time. The three other growth indicators, which are all positive for Clearfield, are more reliable measures of growth momentum. For this reason, the company seems to be on a good trajectory, unless you think the current period is not representative, because of unique events that will not be repeated in the future. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case. ...read more
| GROWTH METRICS | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| REVENUE GROWTH | ||||||||
| REVENUE GROWTH | 80 |
|
67 |
|
82 |
|
79 |
|
| PROFIT GROWTH | ||||||||
| PROFIT GROWTH | 42 |
|
10 |
|
77 |
|
81 |
|
| CAPITAL GROWTH | ||||||||
| CAPITAL GROWTH | 81 |
|
7 |
|
87 |
|
85 |
|
| STOCK RETURNS | ||||||||
| STOCK RETURNS | 100 |
|
11 |
|
47 |
|
47 |
|
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH | 91 |
|
13 |
|
93 |
|
93 |
|
Safety Metrics in Detail
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 74 (better than 74% compared with alternatives), the company Clearfield has financing practices on the safer side, which mean that their overall debt burden is lower than average. This doesn't mean that the business of Clearfield is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators where two out of three are above average for Clearfield.Leverage is at 83, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 83% of its competitors.Refinancing is at a rank of 71, meaning that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 71% of its competitors. Liquidity is at 4, meaning that the company generates less profit to service its debt than 96% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the riskier side regarding debt service. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 74 (better than 74% compared with alternatives), Clearfield has a financing structure that is safer than that of its competitors. Low leverage and low refinancing risk mean a safer financing situation. However, low liquidity means that current company cash flows are low in relation to the level of debt. This is a sign of caution in case it is expected for profits to remain low. Investors should compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before deciding. They may also want to investigate why cash flows are expected to be low, making debt service for Clearfield more challenging. ...read more
| SAFETY METRICS | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 100 |
|
80 |
|
89 |
|
83 |
|
| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 13 |
|
73 |
|
69 |
|
71 |
|
| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 98 |
|
98 |
|
7 |
|
4 |
|
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 96 |
|
100 |
|
70 |
|
74 |
|
Sentiment Metrics in Detail
| SENTIMENT | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANALYST OPINIONS | ||||||||
| ANALYST OPINIONS | n/a |
|
9 |
|
87 |
|
new |
|
| OPINIONS CHANGE | ||||||||
| OPINIONS CHANGE | 50 |
|
50 |
|
86 |
|
new |
|
| PRO HOLDINGS | ||||||||
| PRO HOLDINGS | 100 |
|
53 |
|
3 |
|
new |
|
| MARKET PULSE | ||||||||
| MARKET PULSE | 72 |
|
85 |
|
70 |
|
new |
|
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT | 97 |
|
57 |
|
78 |
|
new |
|
Free stock analysis by the purely fact based Obermatt Method for Clearfield from February 27, 2025.
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