Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Rating Increased to Strong Sell at Barclays

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) was upgraded by equities researchers at Barclays to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Argus upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Friday, April 24th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $11.49.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Up 4.5%

Shares of NYSE:CLF opened at $11.19 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.32. The firm has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.78 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 2.02. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 52-week low of $5.63 and a 52-week high of $16.70.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The mining company reported ($0.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.84 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative return on equity of 15.48% and a negative net margin of 6.42%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.92) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Cleveland-Cliffs

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 281.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,308,271 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $28,161,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703,791 shares during the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. increased its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 474,862 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $6,306,000 after acquiring an additional 151,868 shares during the last quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the third quarter valued at approximately $10,932,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the third quarter valued at approximately $9,171,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 17.5% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 8,010,913 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $97,733,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,035 shares during the last quarter. 67.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.