Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Shares Down 6.2% Following Insider Selling

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF)’s share price was down 6.2% during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $12.70 and last traded at $12.6940. Approximately 3,000,461 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 18,105,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.53.

Specifically, EVP Celso L. Goncalves, Jr. sold 214,308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.41, for a total value of $2,873,870.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 184,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,474,708.22. This represents a 53.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Argus upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Barclays initiated coverage on Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They set an “underweight” rating and a $9.00 price objective for the company. Glj Research restated a “sell” rating and issued a $9.42 target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $9.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $11.99.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $10.47 and a 200-day moving average of $11.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.46 and a beta of 2.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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

Institutional Trading of Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CLF. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,391,397 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $722,318,000 after buying an additional 6,447,462 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,278,156 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $388,814,000 after acquiring an additional 3,632,150 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 572.4% during the fourth quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 18,083,029 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $240,143,000 after acquiring an additional 15,393,507 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 6.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,489,207 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $130,873,000 after acquiring an additional 925,031 shares during the period. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 90.1% in the fourth quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 12,358,230 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $164,117,000 after acquiring an additional 5,855,830 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

About Cleveland-Cliffs

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.