Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.5920.

CLF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $12.80 to $17.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, January 27th.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Performance

NYSE:CLF opened at $7.80 on Friday. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 1 year low of $5.63 and a 1 year high of $16.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of -2.67 and a beta of 1.99.

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

Insider Activity

In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, COO Clifford T. Smith sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.46, for a total value of $2,092,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 560,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,863,133.34. The trade was a 26.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Edilson Camara bought 19,700 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.13 per share, for a total transaction of $199,561.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 41,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $425,287.79. This represents a 88.41% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,942 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 117.5% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,221 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 306.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,461 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 94.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,505 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,214 shares in the last quarter. 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.