Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Trading 7% Higher - Time to Buy?

Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) shot up 7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $11.30 and last traded at $11.31. 8,210,020 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 16,482,117 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CLF. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Glj Research cut their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $14.54 to $12.90 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $16.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.54.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.85. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $10.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of -10.40 and a beta of 1.96.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The mining company reported ($0.68) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.46 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post -0.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other news, EVP Keith Koci purchased 9,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.81 per share, with a total value of $102,695.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 543,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,874,964.75. This trade represents a 1.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jane M. Cronin purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.56 per share, for a total transaction of $105,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 24,522 shares in the company, valued at $258,952.32. The trade was a 68.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $3,429,000 after purchasing an additional 134,939 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter worth approximately $18,999,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 987.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 207,000 shares of the mining company's stock worth $2,644,000 after acquiring an additional 187,957 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the third quarter worth approximately $22,122,000. Finally, First Dallas Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 27.9% in the third quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 206,750 shares of the mining company's stock worth $2,640,000 after acquiring an additional 45,150 shares during the last quarter. 67.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cleveland-Cliffs

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.