Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Reduces Stake in Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky decreased its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 171,600 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 8,100 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs were worth $3,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CLF. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter worth $117,585,000. Peconic Partners LLC purchased a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter worth $42,370,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 154.2% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,586,472 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $40,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,961 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter worth $27,928,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 1,627.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,431,769 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $29,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348,893 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of CLF opened at $14.71 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $17.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.14. The stock has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 2.08. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.84 and a 12 month high of $22.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The mining company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.01). Cleveland-Cliffs had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.78%. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.11) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cleveland-Cliffs announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, April 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the mining company to repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CLF shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Cleveland-Cliffs from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Cleveland-Cliffs from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. BNP Paribas cut Cleveland-Cliffs from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $16.50 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. B. Riley decreased their price objective on Cleveland-Cliffs from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.79.

Insider Transactions at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, Director Ron A. Bloom bought 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.00 per share, with a total value of $425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 59,900 shares in the company, valued at $1,018,300. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, CEO Lourenco Goncalves bought 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.76 per share, with a total value of $1,005,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,759,089 shares in the company, valued at $46,242,331.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ron A. Bloom acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.00 per share, with a total value of $425,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 59,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,018,300. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 98,950 shares of company stock valued at $1,639,638. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Cleveland-Cliffs

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.