Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 194,031 Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,571,641 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 194,031 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs were worth $32,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 27,337 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 50.3% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,850 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 14.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,513 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 83.7% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,571 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the period. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 42,305 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. 67.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TheStreet cut Cleveland-Cliffs from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Cleveland-Cliffs from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $16.50 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.42.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

NYSE:CLF opened at $17.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 2.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $20.48 and its 200 day moving average is $19.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.61 and a 12 month high of $22.97.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The mining company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.34 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cleveland-Cliffs declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, April 22nd that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the mining company to purchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arlene M. Yocum purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.02 per share, for a total transaction of $40,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 94,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,899,637.74. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Lourenco Goncalves sold 187,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.19, for a total value of $3,778,275.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,699,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,494,606.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arlene M. Yocum bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.02 per share, for a total transaction of $40,040.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 94,887 shares in the company, valued at $1,899,637.74. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 87,000 shares of company stock worth $1,470,640 and have sold 221,066 shares worth $4,464,688. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Cleveland-Cliffs 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.