Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) announced its earnings results on Monday. The mining company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a return on equity of 4.85% and a net margin of 0.21%. The company’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share.

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CLF opened at $14.94 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 2.03. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 12-month low of $13.84 and a 12-month high of $22.97. 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 announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, April 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the mining company to buy up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CLF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other news, Director Ron A. Bloom bought 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.00 per share, with a total value of $425,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 59,900 shares in the company, valued at $1,018,300. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Lourenco Goncalves acquired 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were bought 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 in the company, valued at approximately $46,242,331.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ron A. Bloom bought 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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. Insiders purchased 98,950 shares of company stock valued at $1,639,638 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

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.