Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the ten brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.44.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CLF shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised Cleveland-Cliffs to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Cleveland-Cliffs from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $23.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Cleveland-Cliffs from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

Shares of CLF stock opened at $13.95 on Monday. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 12 month low of $13.80 and a 12 month high of $22.97. The company has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 2.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The mining company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a return on equity of 4.94% and a net margin of 0.21%. Cleveland-Cliffs’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cleveland-Cliffs will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Celso L. Goncalves, Jr. purchased 7,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.98 per share, with a total value of $108,605.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 314,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,709,142.76. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Ben Oren acquired 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.99 per share, with a total value of $100,433.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 14,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,363.33. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Celso L. Goncalves, Jr. bought 7,250 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.98 per share, for a total transaction of $108,605.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 314,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,709,142.76. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs during the 4th quarter worth $117,585,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 23.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,597,662 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $86,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069,907 shares during the period. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT increased its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 9.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 334,739 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 5.8% in 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 buying an additional 194,948 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 13.8% during the first quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 3,374,716 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $76,741,000 after buying an additional 410,182 shares during the last quarter. 67.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cleveland-Cliffs Company 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.