Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Price Target Cut to $9.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) had its price target lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $12.00 to $9.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the mining company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. KeyCorp cut Cleveland-Cliffs from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised Cleveland-Cliffs from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $12.80 to $17.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Cleveland-Cliffs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cleveland-Cliffs presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.59.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock opened at $8.18 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a PE ratio of -2.80 and a beta of 1.99. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 52-week low of $5.63 and a 52-week high of $16.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.60 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 7.91% and a negative return on equity of 18.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.68) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, COO Clifford T. Smith sold 200,000 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,863,133.34. The trade was a 26.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Edilson Camara bought 19,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.13 per share, with a total value of $199,561.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 41,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $425,287.79. The trade was 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 Trading of Cleveland-Cliffs

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