Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.49.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CLF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Glj Research lowered their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $14.54 to $12.90 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

Shares of CLF stock opened at $8.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.68 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock's 50-day moving average is $8.76 and its 200 day moving average is $10.42. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 1-year low of $6.17 and a 1-year high of $18.10.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The mining company reported ($0.68) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.65) by ($0.03). Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative return on equity of 0.59% and a negative net margin of 2.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.46 billion. Research analysts predict that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John T. Baldwin purchased 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.70 per share, with a total value of $34,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 133,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,159,074.90. This trade represents a 3.10 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jane M. Cronin acquired 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.56 per share, with a total value of $105,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 24,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,952.32. This trade represents a 68.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 23,500 shares of company stock valued at $243,095. 1.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 232.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,113,337 shares of the mining company's stock worth $39,757,000 after buying an additional 2,176,837 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the 3rd quarter worth about $64,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 105.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 262,771 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $3,429,000 after acquiring an additional 134,939 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 1,190.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,330 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 4,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Trust Co raised its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 813.5% in the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 17,412 shares of the mining company's stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 15,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.68% of the company's stock.

Cleveland-Cliffs Company Profile

Cleveland-Cliffs is the largest flat-rolled steel company and the largest iron ore pellet producer in North America. The company is vertically integrated from mining through iron making, steelmaking, rolling, finishing and downstream with hot and cold stamping of steel parts and components. The company was formerly known as Cliffs Natural Resources Inc and changed its name to Cleveland-Cliffs Inc in August 2017.

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