Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $16.43.

CLF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Glj Research dropped their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $14.54 to $12.90 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Insider Activity

In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, EVP Keith Koci acquired 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.81 per share, with a total value of $102,695.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 543,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,874,964.75. This represents a 1.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jane M. Cronin acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.56 per share, with a total value of $105,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 24,522 shares in the company, valued at $258,952.32. This trade represents a 68.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 23,500 shares of company stock valued at $243,095 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cleveland-Cliffs

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CLF. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 299.8% during the 3rd quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Estabrook Capital Management grew its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 207.7% in the 4th quarter. Estabrook Capital Management now owns 4,000 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. 67.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Performance

NYSE CLF opened at $8.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.85. Cleveland-Cliffs has a fifty-two week low of $8.51 and a fifty-two week high of $22.97. The stock has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of -8.97 and a beta of 1.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $10.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.53.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The mining company reported ($0.68) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.65) by ($0.03). Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative return on equity of 0.59% and a negative net margin of 2.31%. The business had revenue of $4.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.