Clear Secure (NYSE:YOU) Shares Down 5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Clear Secure, Inc. (NYSE:YOU) fell 5% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $24.72 and last traded at $24.73. 1,928,030 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 44% from the average session volume of 1,336,862 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $26.00 price target (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Clear Secure in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Clear Secure in a report on Monday, December 16th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Clear Secure from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Clear Secure from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clear Secure currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.20.

Clear Secure Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.04.

Clear Secure (NYSE:YOU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.03). Clear Secure had a net margin of 10.93% and a return on equity of 48.28%. The business had revenue of $198.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $194.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Clear Secure, Inc. will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clear Secure Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This is a positive change from Clear Secure’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Clear Secure’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clear Secure

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Clear Secure by 24,161.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,051,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,300,000 after acquiring an additional 3,039,236 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Clear Secure by 50.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Clear Secure by 376.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 2,696 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clear Secure by 468.7% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 5,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Clear Secure in the 4th quarter worth $446,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.80% of the company’s stock.

About Clear Secure

Clear Secure, Inc operates a secure identity platform under the CLEAR brand name primarily in the United States. Its secure identity platform is a multi-layered infrastructure consisting of front-end, including enrollment, verification, and linking, as well as back-end. The company also offers CLEAR Plus, a consumer aviation subscription service, which enables access to predictable entry lanes in airport security checkpoints, as well as access to broader network; and CLEAR mobile app, which is used to enroll new members and improve the experience for existing members.