First Eagle Investment Management LLC Sells 4,633 Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) by 16.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,863 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 4,633 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs were worth $543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 530,838 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $8,297,000 after buying an additional 80,431 shares in the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 75,098 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 7,657 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 93.7% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 41,650 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $850,000 after purchasing an additional 20,143 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 626,207 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $12,787,000 after purchasing an additional 72,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management purchased a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the 4th quarter worth approximately $262,000. Institutional investors own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CLF traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $15.27. 4,566,000 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,861,900. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 2.03. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has a one year low of $13.84 and a one year high of $22.97. The company’s 50 day moving average is $16.04 and its 200 day moving average is $18.55.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last posted its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $5.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.11) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Cleveland-Cliffs announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Cleveland-Cliffs

In related news, Director Ron A. Bloom purchased 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.00 per share, for a total transaction of $425,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 59,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,018,300. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, CEO Lourenco Goncalves bought 60,000 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.76 per share, for a total transaction of $1,005,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,759,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,242,331.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ron A. Bloom bought 25,000 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.00 per share, for a total transaction of $425,000.00. Following the purchase, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 98,950 shares of company stock worth $1,639,638. Company insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CLF. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.