Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Trading 1.9% Higher – Here’s Why

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Cleveland-Cliffs from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Glj Research cut their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $14.54 to $12.90 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cleveland-Cliffs currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.43.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.29. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a PE ratio of -9.52 and a beta of 1.94.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The mining company reported ($0.68) earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post -0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Cleveland-Cliffs

In related news, EVP Keith Koci purchased 9,500 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.81 per share, for a total transaction of $102,695.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 543,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,874,964.75. The trade was a 1.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John T. Baldwin bought 4,000 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.70 per share, for a total transaction of $34,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 133,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,159,074.90. This trade 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 valued at $243,095 over the last 90 days. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Estabrook Capital Management raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 130.0% during the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 4,600 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.