Clear Secure (NYSE:YOU) Shares Down 5% – Time to Sell?

Clear Secure, Inc. (NYSE:YOU)’s share price was down 5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $24.72 and last traded at $24.73. Approximately 1,928,030 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 44% from the average daily volume of 1,336,862 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Clear Secure Price Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.05. The company has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.06 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Clear Secure Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. This is an increase from Clear Secure’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Clear Secure’s payout ratio is currently 58.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clear Secure

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Clear Secure by 91.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 52,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $986,000 after buying an additional 25,194 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Clear Secure during the second quarter worth $2,429,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Clear Secure by 39.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 380,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,123,000 after purchasing an additional 108,405 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Clear Secure by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 78,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in shares of Clear Secure by 210.1% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 36,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 24,993 shares in the last quarter. 73.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.