Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Trading Up 1.9% – Still a Buy?

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) shares were up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $9.84 and last traded at $9.60. Approximately 4,362,609 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 12,714,486 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Glj Research lowered their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.43.

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Down 1.8 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $10.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.29. The company has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.52 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The mining company reported ($0.68) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other news, EVP Keith Koci purchased 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.81 per share, for a total transaction of $102,695.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 543,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,874,964.75. The trade was a 1.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jane M. Cronin acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.56 per share, for a total transaction of $105,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 24,522 shares in the company, valued at $258,952.32. This trade represents a 68.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders purchased 23,500 shares of company stock valued at $243,095. 1.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 460,347 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $4,327,000 after purchasing an additional 5,485 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 1,151.4% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 150,037 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,410,000 after buying an additional 138,047 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. bought a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs during the 4th quarter valued at about $407,000. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 9,170.9% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 69,995 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $658,000 after buying an additional 69,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,298,868 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $12,209,000 after buying an additional 242,386 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

Cleveland-Cliffs Company Profile

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.