Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF)

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors bought 61,622 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 42% compared to the typical daily volume of 43,472 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Clifford T. Smith sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.46, for a total transaction of $2,092,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 560,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,863,133.34. This represents a 26.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Edilson Camara acquired 19,700 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were purchased 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 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. Corporate insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CLF. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 281.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,308,271 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $28,161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703,791 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. lifted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 474,862 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $6,306,000 after purchasing an additional 151,868 shares during the period. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $10,932,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $9,171,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 8,010,913 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $97,733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,035 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Up 7.8%

NYSE CLF traded up $0.71 on Friday, hitting $9.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,992,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,057,119. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 52-week low of $5.63 and a 52-week high of $16.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.72. The firm has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.19 and a beta of 1.91.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The mining company reported ($0.40) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.04. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative return on equity of 15.48% and a negative net margin of 6.42%.The business had revenue of $4.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.92) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CLF shares. Glj Research restated a “sell” rating and set a $9.42 price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $16.80 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Argus upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $11.66.

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.