Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $20.85, but opened at $19.92. Cleveland-Cliffs shares last traded at $19.31, with a volume of 6,367,132 shares.

The mining company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.34 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a net margin of 1.81% and a return on equity of 6.79%. Cleveland-Cliffs’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.11) earnings per share.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on CLF. StockNews.com raised Cleveland-Cliffs from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. TheStreet cut Cleveland-Cliffs from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Argus cut Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, EVP Terry G. Fedor sold 27,430 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.19, for a total value of $553,811.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 534,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,793,917.23. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Susan Miranda Green sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.40, for a total transaction of $132,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 90,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,841,834.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Terry G. Fedor sold 27,430 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.19, for a total value of $553,811.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 534,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,793,917.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 221,066 shares of company stock worth $4,464,688. Insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the 4th quarter worth approximately $117,585,000. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT raised its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 4,037,507 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $82,446,000 after buying an additional 334,739 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,542,004 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $72,328,000 after buying an additional 194,948 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,735,603 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $42,757,000 after buying an additional 236,274 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 154.2% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,586,472 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $40,181,000 after buying an additional 1,568,961 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Down 7.8 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $20.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.03.

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.