Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $11.00 to $12.00. The stock had previously closed at $11.27, but opened at $11.92. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Cleveland-Cliffs shares last traded at $11.9710, with a volume of 4,676,155 shares.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Glj Research upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $15.01 to $15.60 in a report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $14.00 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cleveland-Cliffs

In related news, EVP Celso L. Goncalves, Jr. sold 214,308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.41, for a total value of $2,873,870.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 184,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,474,708.22. This trade represents a 53.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 0.6% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 152,009 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,855,000 after buying an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 33,118 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. now owns 9,500 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 117.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,221 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 94.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,505 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Up 5.1%

The stock has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.36 and a beta of 2.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.75.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The mining company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.01. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 4.56% and a negative return on equity of 13.37%. The company had revenue of $5.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.50) earnings per share. Cleveland-Cliffs’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post -0.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.