Clear Secure, Inc. (NYSE:YOU) Short Interest Update

Clear Secure, Inc. (NYSE:YOU) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,210,000 shares, a drop of 17.2% from the October 31st total of 17,160,000 shares. Currently, 18.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.9 days.

Clear Secure Price Performance

Shares of Clear Secure stock opened at $26.01 on Monday. Clear Secure has a 1 year low of $16.05 and a 1 year high of $38.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $31.85 and its 200 day moving average is $25.75. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09 and a beta of 1.44.

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

Clear Secure Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. This is a positive change from Clear Secure’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Clear Secure’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Clear Secure from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Clear Secure from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Clear Secure in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $26.00 price target (up from $24.00) on shares of Clear Secure in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Clear Secure from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clear Secure currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.67.

Insider Transactions at Clear Secure

In related news, CFO Kenneth L. Cornick sold 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.30, for a total value of $8,075,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dennis W. Liu sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.05, for a total transaction of $46,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $223,901.55. This trade represents a 17.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 901,500 shares of company stock worth $29,055,829. 37.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Clear Secure by 232.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 115,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,452,000 after buying an additional 80,569 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Clear Secure by 667.5% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 213,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,086,000 after acquiring an additional 185,957 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Clear Secure by 402.1% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 38,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 30,733 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Clear Secure during the second quarter valued at approximately $840,000. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Clear Secure in the third quarter worth approximately $2,010,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.