Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Stock Price Down 8.6% - Should You Sell?

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 8.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $7.07 and last traded at $7.27. Approximately 7,023,895 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 13,992,248 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on CLF shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Glj Research lowered their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $14.54 to $12.90 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.24.

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Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Up 0.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.62 and a beta of 1.93. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $9.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.85.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other news, Director John T. Baldwin acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.70 per share, for a total transaction of $34,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 133,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,159,074.90. This trade represents a 3.10 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jane M. Cronin purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.56 per share, for a total transaction of $105,600.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 24,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,952.32. The trade was a 68.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 23,500 shares of company stock valued at $243,095 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Estabrook Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 207.7% in the fourth quarter. Estabrook Capital Management now owns 4,000 shares of the mining company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 130.0% during the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 4,600 shares of the mining company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Institutional investors 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.