Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday morning.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an equal weight rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup cut shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wolfe Research restated an underperform rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a b- rating to a c rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $20.75.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE CLF opened at $18.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 52 week low of $13.61 and a 52 week high of $22.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 2.03.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The mining company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.01). Cleveland-Cliffs had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.11) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cleveland-Cliffs will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cleveland-Cliffs announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, April 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the mining company to purchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Cleveland-Cliffs

In related news, Director Arlene M. Yocum bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Arlene M. Yocum bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan Miranda Green sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.40, for a total transaction of $132,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 90,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,841,834.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 221,066 shares of company stock worth $4,464,688 over the last ninety days. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 83.7% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,571 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 2,858.0% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 67.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cleveland-Cliffs Company 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.