Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.8920.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CLF shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley raised Cleveland-Cliffs from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $12.80 to $17.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. KeyCorp cut Cleveland-Cliffs from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, COO Clifford T. Smith sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.46, for a total transaction of $2,092,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 560,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,863,133.34. This trade represents a 26.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lourenco Goncalves sold 3,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.42, for a total transaction of $37,260,000.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CLF. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the 1st quarter worth approximately $339,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 48.0% during the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 268,452 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,040,000 after buying an additional 87,102 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 27.8% during the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 14,130 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 3,070 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 412.9% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 41,924 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 33,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 270,221 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after buying an additional 73,517 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Up 1.3%

Cleveland-Cliffs stock opened at $10.79 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 12 month low of $5.63 and a 12 month high of $16.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.30. The firm has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a PE ratio of -3.69 and a beta of 1.93.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The mining company reported ($0.43) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by $0.19. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 7.91% and a negative return on equity of 18.94%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.68) EPS. The business’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

About Cleveland-Cliffs

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.