Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Shares Down 3.9% – Here’s Why

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) shares dropped 3.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $7.21 and last traded at $7.25. Approximately 11,459,586 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 17,144,298 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CLF has been the subject of several research reports. Glj Research cut shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating and set a $3.91 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.25 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.74.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Up 7.0%

The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.84 and a beta of 1.85. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.38.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The mining company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.78) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 2.31% and a negative return on equity of 0.59%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.18 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, Director John T. Baldwin bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.70 per share, for a total transaction of $34,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 133,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,159,074.90. The trade was a 3.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP James D. Graham sold 120,000 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.85, for a total transaction of $822,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 492,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,371,905.65. This trade represents a 19.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CLF. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Estabrook Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 207.7% during the 4th quarter. Estabrook Capital Management now owns 4,000 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 130.0% during the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 4,600 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 67.68% 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.