Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Lowers Stock Position in Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) by 8.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 190,646 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 17,974 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs were worth $4,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the 4th quarter worth approximately $839,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter worth $71,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its position 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 valued at $12,787,000 after purchasing an additional 72,185 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 82.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 392,842 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $8,932,000 after purchasing an additional 177,198 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis purchased a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the 1st quarter worth about $100,000. 67.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Cleveland-Cliffs from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $23.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. 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 report on Tuesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cleveland-Cliffs presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.44.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLF opened at $15.36 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $15.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 2.03. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has a one year low of $13.84 and a one year high of $22.97.

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

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

Cleveland-Cliffs 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.