The Goldman Sachs Group Has Lowered Expectations for Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Stock Price

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) had its price objective decreased by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the mining company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 55.76% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on CLF. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Glj Research lowered their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $14.54 to $12.90 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.43.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

CLF stock opened at $9.63 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.85. The company has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of -10.02 and a beta of 1.96. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $10.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.63. Cleveland-Cliffs has a one year low of $8.99 and a one year high of $22.97.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The mining company reported ($0.68) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.65) by ($0.03). Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative return on equity of 0.59% and a negative net margin of 2.31%. The company had revenue of $4.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Keith Koci acquired 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $10.81 per share, for a total transaction of $102,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 543,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,874,964.75. This trade represents a 1.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jane M. Cronin purchased 10,000 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.56 per share, for a total transaction of $105,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,952.32. This trade represents a 68.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 299.8% during the 3rd quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares during the period. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the third quarter worth $34,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Estabrook Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 207.7% in the fourth quarter. Estabrook Capital Management now owns 4,000 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

About Cleveland-Cliffs

Cleveland-Cliffs is the largest flat-rolled steel company and the largest iron ore pellet producer in North America. The company is vertically integrated from mining through iron making, steelmaking, rolling, finishing and downstream with hot and cold stamping of steel parts and components. The company was formerly known as Cliffs Natural Resources Inc and changed its name to Cleveland-Cliffs Inc in August 2017.