Analysts Set Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) Target Price at $11.77

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.7689.

Several analysts recently issued reports on CLF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Glj Research reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $9.42 price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Friday, May 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Clifford T. Smith sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.46, for a total value of $2,092,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 560,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,863,133.34. This trade represents a 26.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLF. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the first quarter valued at approximately $339,000. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 27.4% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 49,955 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 10,733 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 4.4% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 143,264 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after buying an additional 6,073 shares in the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 47.4% in the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 22,167 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 7,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 20.3% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,081,241 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $23,417,000 after buying an additional 520,120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE CLF opened at $10.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 2.02. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 52 week low of $5.63 and a 52 week high of $16.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.68 and a beta of 2.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $9.40 and its 200 day moving average is $11.42.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The mining company reported ($0.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.84 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 6.42% and a negative return on equity of 15.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.92) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cleveland-Cliffs Company Profile

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc is a leading North American producer of iron ore pellets and flat-rolled steel products. Tracing its roots to 1847, the company has evolved from an iron-ore mining concern in the Great Lakes region into a fully integrated steelmaker. Today, Cleveland-Cliffs operates iron ore mining complexes in Michigan and Minnesota as well as steelmaking and finishing facilities across the United States.

The company’s integrated platform begins with direct control of key raw materials, including iron ore and scrap, and extends through every stage of steel production.