Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Given New $23.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) had its target price cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the mining company’s stock.

CLF has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BNP Paribas lowered Cleveland-Cliffs from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and set a $16.50 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wolfe Research restated an underperform rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. TheStreet downgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from a b- rating to a c rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $20.75.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE CLF opened at $17.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.16, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 2.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.99. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 52-week low of $13.61 and a 52-week high of $22.97.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last announced its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.34 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.11) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Cleveland-Cliffs will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cleveland-Cliffs declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, April 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the mining company to purchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Cleveland-Cliffs

In related news, Director Susan Miranda Green sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.40, for a total value of $132,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 90,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,841,834.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Arlene M. Yocum bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.02 per share, with a total value of $40,040.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan Miranda Green sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 90,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,841,834.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 221,066 shares of company stock valued at $4,464,688 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLF. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter valued at $117,585,000. Peconic Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter valued at $42,370,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 154.2% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,586,472 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $40,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,961 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 240.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,988,689 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $31,083,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the 4th quarter worth about $27,928,000. 67.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.