Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning Lowers Stock Holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF)

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning trimmed its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) by 34.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,313 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 6,392 shares during the period. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs were worth $280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $117,585,000. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT increased its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 4,037,507 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $82,446,000 after acquiring an additional 334,739 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,542,004 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $72,328,000 after acquiring an additional 194,948 shares in the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 5.3% during the first quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 2,214,119 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $50,349,000 after acquiring an additional 110,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peconic Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,370,000. 67.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other news, Director Ron A. Bloom bought 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.00 per share, for a total transaction of $425,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 59,900 shares in the company, valued at $1,018,300. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Ron A. Bloom purchased 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.00 per share, for a total transaction of $425,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 59,900 shares in the company, valued at $1,018,300. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Lourenco Goncalves purchased 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $16.76 per share, for a total transaction of $1,005,600.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,759,089 shares in the company, valued at $46,242,331.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 98,950 shares of company stock worth $1,639,638. 1.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

Shares of CLF traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $15.84. 690,007 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,839,630. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.84 and a 52-week high of $22.97. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $16.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.94. The company has a market cap of $7.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 2.03.

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

Cleveland-Cliffs announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, April 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the mining company to repurchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. 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 report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.