Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Trading 5.7% Higher – Here’s Why

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF)’s stock price shot up 5.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $10.49 and last traded at $10.46. 13,381,511 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 15,991,096 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on CLF. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $15.00 to $13.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Glj Research upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.27 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.93.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.79 and a beta of 1.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $11.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The mining company reported ($0.33) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.31) by ($0.02). Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative return on equity of 0.59% and a negative net margin of 2.31%. The business had revenue of $4.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post -0.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 299.8% during the 3rd quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,490 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 231.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,539 shares during the period. 67.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.