Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Trading Up 7.8% – Still a Buy?

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) shares were up 7.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $12.71 and last traded at $12.9170. Approximately 6,162,894 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 17,683,854 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CLF shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays started coverage on Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $9.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $11.49.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Up 7.5%

The company has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a PE ratio of -5.49 and a beta of 2.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.33. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The mining company reported ($0.40) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.84 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 6.42% and a negative return on equity of 15.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.92) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post -0.46 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs in the first quarter valued at approximately $339,000. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 27.4% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 49,955 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 10,733 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 4.4% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 143,264 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 6,073 shares in the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 47.4% during the 2nd quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 22,167 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 7,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 20.3% in the 2nd 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.

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.