Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $9.53, but opened at $9.12. Cleveland-Cliffs shares last traded at $9.24, with a volume of 3,937,984 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Glj Research reduced their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $14.54 to $12.90 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup reduced 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.43.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $10.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.32. The company has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.53 and a beta of 1.94.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cleveland-Cliffs

In related news, Director Jane M. Cronin acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.56 per share, with a total value of $105,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 24,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,952.32. This trade represents a 68.86 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John T. Baldwin purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.70 per share, for a total transaction of $34,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 133,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,159,074.90. This represents a 3.10 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 23,500 shares of company stock worth $243,095 in the last quarter. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CLF. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Estabrook Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 207.7% during the fourth quarter. Estabrook Capital Management now owns 4,000 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 130.0% during the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 4,600 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. 67.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.