Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Seaport Res Ptn

Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, Zacks.com reports. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Cleveland-Cliffs’ FY2024 earnings at $0.07 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.31 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $0.98 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $17.50 to $15.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of 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 report on Tuesday, June 11th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Monday, May 20th. They set a buy rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America cut their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a buy rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $18.94.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Performance

CLF stock opened at $14.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 2.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $14.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.52. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 1 year low of $12.39 and a 1 year high of $22.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 1.87.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The mining company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $5.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a net margin of 0.21% and a return on equity of 4.94%. Cleveland-Cliffs’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Cleveland-Cliffs will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cleveland-Cliffs

In related news, Director Ben Oren purchased 6,700 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $14.99 per share, with a total value of $100,433.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $212,363.33. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Ben Oren bought 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.99 per share, with a total value of $100,433.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,167 shares in the company, valued at $212,363.33. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Celso L. Goncalves, Jr. acquired 7,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.98 per share, with a total value of $108,605.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 314,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,709,142.76. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cleveland-Cliffs

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CLF. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 45.8% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 215,644 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $4,407,000 after acquiring an additional 67,697 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 140,181 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,862,000 after purchasing an additional 2,472 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter valued at about $357,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 42,325 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $864,000 after buying an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 18,460 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,639 shares during the last quarter. 67.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.