South Dakota Investment Council Sells 632,145 Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. $CLF

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) by 96.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 24,321 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 632,145 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs were worth $206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Phocas Financial Corp. increased its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 474,862 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $6,306,000 after purchasing an additional 151,868 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,391,397 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $722,318,000 after purchasing an additional 6,447,462 shares in the last quarter. Havemeyer Place LP acquired a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,331,000. Entropy Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 439.8% during the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 255,147 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,156,000 after purchasing an additional 207,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 1,059.4% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 318,247 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $4,214,000 after purchasing an additional 290,797 shares during the last quarter. 67.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CLF shares. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Friday, July 24th. Argus raised shares of Cleveland-Cliffs to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cleveland-Cliffs has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Celso L. Goncalves, Jr. sold 214,308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were 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 owned 184,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,474,708.22. This trade represents a 53.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock opened at $11.54 on Friday. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has a one year low of $7.73 and a one year high of $16.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $11.40 and its 200 day moving average is $11.00. The firm has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.13 and a beta of 2.13.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The mining company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative return on equity of 13.37% and a negative net margin of 4.56%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.50) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post -0.11 EPS for the current 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.