Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) Short Interest Up 11.9% in June

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 34,810,000 shares, an increase of 11.9% from the May 31st total of 31,110,000 shares. Currently, 7.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 8,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock remained flat at $15.39 during trading on Monday. 6,348,851 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,913,854. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.64, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 2.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.90. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 12-month low of $13.84 and a 12-month high of $22.97.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The mining company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.01). Cleveland-Cliffs had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.78%. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.11) EPS. Cleveland-Cliffs’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Cleveland-Cliffs will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cleveland-Cliffs announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, April 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the mining company to reacquire up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ben Oren purchased 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.99 per share, for a total transaction of $100,433.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 14,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $212,363.33. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Ben Oren acquired 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $14.99 per share, for a total transaction of $100,433.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,167 shares in the company, valued at $212,363.33. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ron A. Bloom purchased 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.00 per share, for a total transaction of $425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 59,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,018,300. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 98,950 shares of company stock worth $1,639,638. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLF. Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the 4th quarter valued at about $839,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,188,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 108.7% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 343,465 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $5,368,000 after acquiring an additional 178,864 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 626,207 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $12,787,000 after acquiring an additional 72,185 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on CLF. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup cut shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.44.

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.