Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) vs. Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Head to Head Contrast

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) and Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) are both technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Clearfield and Cisco Systems”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Clearfield	$150.13 million	2.76	-$8.05 million	($0.51)	-59.83
Cisco Systems	$63.33 billion	6.80	$13.27 billion	$3.34	32.72

Cisco Systems has higher revenue and earnings than Clearfield. Clearfield is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cisco Systems, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Clearfield has a beta of 2.11, meaning that its share price is 111% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cisco Systems has a beta of 1, meaning that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Clearfield and Cisco Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Clearfield	-4.71%	1.61%	1.45%
Cisco Systems	20.95%	30.16%	11.69%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Clearfield and Cisco Systems, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Clearfield	1	1	5	0	2.57
Cisco Systems	0	7	16	2	2.80

Clearfield currently has a consensus target price of $41.75, suggesting a potential upside of 36.82%. Cisco Systems has a consensus target price of $129.68, suggesting a potential upside of 18.68%. Given Clearfield’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Clearfield is more favorable than Cisco Systems.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

88.7% of Clearfield shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.3% of Cisco Systems shares are held by institutional investors. 17.8% of Clearfield shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Cisco Systems shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Cisco Systems beats Clearfield on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. It also provides CraftSmart FiberFirst pedestals, an access terminal that offers a cable management and mounting bracket kit to support the deployment of access terminals; YOURx, an access terminal that provides flexibility with cable mid-span and internal splicing options; and FieldShield, a fiber pathway and protection method for reducing the cost of broadband deployment. In addition, the company offers fiber assemblies; fiber optic and copper cables, microducts, microduct accessories, and tools; and installation and connection accessories for fiber optic networks. It serves community broadband customers, multiple system operators, large regional service providers, and wireline/wireless national telco carriers. The company was formerly known as APA Enterprises, Inc. and changed its name to Clearfield, Inc. in January 2008. Clearfield, Inc. was incorpoarted in 1979 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells Internet Protocol based networking and other products related to the communications and information technology industry in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Japan, and China. The company also offers switching portfolio encompasses campus switching as well as data center switching; enterprise routing portfolio interconnects public and private wireline and mobile networks, delivering highly secure, and reliable connectivity to campus, data center and branch networks; wireless products include wireless access points and controllers; and compute portfolio including the cisco unified computing system, hyperflex, and software management capabilities, which combine computing, networking, and storage infrastructure management and virtualization. In addition, it provides Internet for the future product consists of routed optical networking, 5G, silicon, and optics solutions; collaboration products, such as meetings, collaboration devices, calling, contact center, and communication platform as a service; end-to-end security product consists of network security, cloud security, security endpoints, unified threat management, and zero trust; and optimized application experiences products including full stack observability and network assurance. Further, the company offers a range of service and support options for its customers, including technical support and advanced services and advisory services. It serves businesses of various sizes, public institutions, governments, and service providers. The company sells its products and services directly, as well as through systems integrators, service providers, other resellers, and distributors. Cisco Systems, Inc. has strategic alliances with other companies. Cisco Systems, Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.