Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Stock Price Down 8.4% – Here’s What Happened

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) shares dropped 8.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $9.75 and last traded at $9.78. Approximately 9,872,529 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 18,155,963 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CLF shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Cleveland-Cliffs from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Glj Research dropped their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $9.52 to $9.42 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.89.

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Down 7.3%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $12.70 and a 200-day moving average of $12.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.39 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The mining company reported ($0.43) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.19. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 7.91% and a negative return on equity of 18.94%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.68) earnings per share. Cleveland-Cliffs’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post -0.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Lourenco Goncalves sold 3,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.42, for a total value of $37,260,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Clifford T. Smith sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.46, for a total transaction of $2,092,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 572.4% in the 4th quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 18,083,029 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $240,143,000 after purchasing an additional 15,393,507 shares in the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the second quarter valued at approximately $63,731,000. Turiya Advisors Asia Ltd purchased a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter worth approximately $96,280,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,391,397 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $722,318,000 after acquiring an additional 6,447,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,120,000. 67.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.