Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Coverage Initiated at KeyCorp

Research analysts at KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) in a research note issued on Wednesday. The firm set a “sector weight” rating on the mining company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen raised Cleveland-Cliffs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Glj Research reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $9.42 price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Monday, March 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Monday, February 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.59.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Down 0.4%

CLF stock opened at $8.51 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $11.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a PE ratio of -2.91 and a beta of 1.99. Cleveland-Cliffs has a one year low of $5.63 and a one year high of $16.70.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Edilson Camara purchased 19,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.13 per share, with a total value of $199,561.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 41,983 shares in the company, valued at $425,287.79. The trade was a 88.41% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Clifford T. Smith sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 560,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,863,133.34. This trade represents a 26.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CLF. Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 572.4% in the 4th quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 18,083,029 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $240,143,000 after buying an additional 15,393,507 shares during the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $63,731,000. Turiya Advisors Asia Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter valued at $96,280,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,391,397 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $722,318,000 after buying an additional 6,447,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs in the second quarter valued at about $44,120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.