Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 34,810,000 shares, an increase of 11.9% from the May 31st total of 31,110,000 shares. Currently, 7.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Performance

CLF traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.94. 7,044,625 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,889,666. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $16.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 2.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 52-week low of $13.84 and a 52-week high of $22.97.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The mining company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.01). Cleveland-Cliffs had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.11) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cleveland-Cliffs will post 0.44 EPS for the current year.

Cleveland-Cliffs declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, April 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the mining company to buy up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other news, Director Ben Oren acquired 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.99 per share, with a total value of $100,433.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $212,363.33. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, Director Ben Oren bought 6,700 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.99 per share, with a total value of $100,433.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $212,363.33. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lourenco Goncalves acquired 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.76 per share, for a total transaction of $1,005,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,759,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,242,331.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 98,950 shares of company stock worth $1,639,638. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter worth approximately $117,585,000. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT raised its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 4,037,507 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $82,446,000 after purchasing an additional 334,739 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,542,004 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $72,328,000 after purchasing an additional 194,948 shares during the period. Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 13.8% during the first quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 3,374,716 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $76,741,000 after purchasing an additional 410,182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 10.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,884,249 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $65,589,000 after purchasing an additional 275,265 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $23.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Citigroup cut Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.44.

Cleveland-Cliffs Company Profile

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.