Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Now Covered by KeyCorp

KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) in a report released on Wednesday. The firm issued a sector weight rating on the mining company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Glj Research reissued a “sell” rating and set a $9.42 price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $12.80 to $17.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Three equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.59.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Performance

CLF stock opened at $8.54 on Wednesday. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 1-year low of $5.63 and a 1-year high of $16.70. 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 cap of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of -2.92 and a beta of 1.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $11.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.14.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.68) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cleveland-Cliffs

In related news, CEO Lourenco Goncalves sold 3,000,000 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.42, for a total value of $37,260,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Clifford T. Smith sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 560,529 shares in the company, valued at $5,863,133.34. The trade was a 26.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Castle Hook Partners LP grew its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 572.4% in the fourth quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 18,083,029 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $240,143,000 after purchasing an additional 15,393,507 shares in the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the 2nd quarter valued at $63,731,000. Turiya Advisors Asia Ltd bought a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs during the 4th quarter worth about $96,280,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,391,397 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $722,318,000 after buying an additional 6,447,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

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.