Clear Secure (NYSE:YOU) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Clear Secure, Inc. (NYSE:YOU)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $38.76 and last traded at $38.73, with a volume of 9571 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Clear Secure Stock Down 1.8 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.70. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.58 and a beta of 1.63.

Clear Secure (NYSE:YOU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $186.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.78 million. Clear Secure had a return on equity of 35.33% and a net margin of 10.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.05 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Clear Secure, Inc. will post 1.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clear Secure Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.125 dividend. This is a positive change from Clear Secure’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Clear Secure’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clear Secure

In other Clear Secure news, insider Richard N. Jr. Patterson sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.04, for a total value of $202,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $722,698.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Clear Secure news, Director Jeffery H. Boyd sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.14, for a total value of $4,221,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $771,908.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard N. Jr. Patterson sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.04, for a total value of $202,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,727 shares in the company, valued at $722,698.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,164,935 shares of company stock valued at $36,623,387 over the last three months. 37.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Clear Secure

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of YOU. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Clear Secure by 11.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,571,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111,330 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Clear Secure by 56.5% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,954,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,271,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,400 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Clear Secure by 303.6% during the second quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 1,199,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,445,000 after acquiring an additional 902,436 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Clear Secure by 278.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,099,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,563,000 after acquiring an additional 808,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Clear Secure by 56.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,103,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,358,000 after acquiring an additional 757,528 shares in the last quarter. 73.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clear Secure Company Profile

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.