Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.8510.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Argus upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $9.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Friday, May 1st.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Celso L. Goncalves, Jr. sold 214,308 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.41, for a total transaction of $2,873,870.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 184,542 shares in the company, valued at $2,474,708.22. The trade was a 53.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 152,009 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,855,000 after buying an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 33,118 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares during the last quarter. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. lifted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. now owns 26,752 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the last quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. now owns 9,500 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,185 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. 67.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Down 2.3%

NYSE:CLF opened at $12.43 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Cleveland-Cliffs has a fifty-two week low of $6.72 and a fifty-two week high of $16.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $10.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.54. The stock has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of -5.31 and a beta of 2.09.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The mining company reported ($0.40) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.04. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative return on equity of 15.48% and a negative net margin of 6.42%.The company had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.92) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Cleveland-Cliffs

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc is a leading North American producer of iron ore pellets and flat-rolled steel products. Tracing its roots to 1847, the company has evolved from an iron-ore mining concern in the Great Lakes region into a fully integrated steelmaker. Today, Cleveland-Cliffs operates iron ore mining complexes in Michigan and Minnesota as well as steelmaking and finishing facilities across the United States.

The company’s integrated platform begins with direct control of key raw materials, including iron ore and scrap, and extends through every stage of steel production.