Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Trading Up 6.8% – Still a Buy?

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) rose 6.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $8.70 and last traded at $8.65. Approximately 17,917,375 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 34% from the average daily volume of 13,383,220 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CLF has been the subject of several recent research reports. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Glj Research decreased their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $14.54 to $12.90 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cleveland-Cliffs has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.43.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Up 6.8 %

The company has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.92 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $10.18 and a 200 day moving average of $11.16.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The mining company reported ($0.68) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.65) by ($0.03). Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 2.31% and a negative return on equity of 0.59%. The business had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, EVP Keith Koci bought 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.81 per share, for a total transaction of $102,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 543,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,874,964.75. This trade represents a 1.78 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jane M. Cronin acquired 10,000 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.56 per share, for a total transaction of $105,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,952.32. The trade was a 68.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 23,500 shares of company stock worth $243,095 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Estabrook Capital Management raised its holdings 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 worth $38,000 after acquiring 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 acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the third quarter valued at $64,000. 67.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cleveland-Cliffs

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.