Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Shares Down 8.2% – Here’s What Happened

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) shares dropped 8.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $8.64 and last traded at $8.57. Approximately 14,815,522 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 13% from the average daily volume of 13,134,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on CLF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Glj Research cut their price objective on Cleveland-Cliffs from $14.54 to $12.90 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cleveland-Cliffs has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.43.

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Down 8.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.79 and a beta of 1.94. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $10.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The mining company reported ($0.68) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.65) by ($0.03). Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 2.31% and a negative return on equity of 0.59%. The firm had revenue of $4.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Keith Koci bought 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.81 per share, with a total value of $102,695.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 543,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,874,964.75. This trade represents a 1.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jane M. Cronin bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.56 per share, for a total transaction of $105,600.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 24,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,952.32. This represents a 68.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 23,500 shares of company stock worth $243,095 in the last three months. 1.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cleveland-Cliffs

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,751,153 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $47,902,000 after acquiring an additional 121,389 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 19.3% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 96,349 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 15,580 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the 3rd quarter worth about $22,122,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Concentric Capital Strategies LP grew its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP now owns 149,684 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,911,000 after buying an additional 4,412 shares during the last quarter. 67.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.