Insider Selling: Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) COO Sells $2,092,000.00 in Stock

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) COO Clifford Smith sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.46, for a total value of $2,092,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 560,529 shares in the company, valued at $5,863,133.34. This trade represents a 26.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Up 3.7%

CLF stock opened at $10.66 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.26. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has a twelve month low of $5.63 and a twelve month high of $16.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of -3.65 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The mining company reported ($0.43) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.60 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 7.91% and a negative return on equity of 18.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.68) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post -0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Glj Research reduced their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $9.52 to $9.42 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Cleveland-Cliffs from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.89.

Institutional Trading of Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CLF. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 4,315.6% in the third quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,942 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 117.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,221 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 131.3% during the second quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,070 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 2,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 94.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,505 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

Cleveland-Cliffs Company Profile

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc is a leading North American producer of iron ore pellets and flat-rolled steel products. Tracing its roots to 1847, the company has evolved from an iron-ore mining concern in the Great Lakes region into a fully integrated steelmaker. Today, Cleveland-Cliffs operates iron ore mining complexes in Michigan and Minnesota as well as steelmaking and finishing facilities across the United States.

The company’s integrated platform begins with direct control of key raw materials, including iron ore and scrap, and extends through every stage of steel production.