Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Shares Down 2.5% - Here's Why

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 2.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $9.22 and last traded at $9.44. 7,277,178 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 12,567,335 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Glj Research lowered their price objective on Cleveland-Cliffs from $14.54 to $12.90 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cleveland-Cliffs currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.43.

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Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Down 0.9 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.30. 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 has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.74 and a beta of 1.94.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The mining company reported ($0.68) earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Cleveland-Cliffs

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 460,347 shares of the mining company's stock worth $4,327,000 after acquiring an additional 5,485 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 1,151.4% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 150,037 shares of the mining company's stock worth $1,410,000 after acquiring an additional 138,047 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter worth approximately $407,000. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 9,170.9% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 69,995 shares of the mining company's stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 69,240 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,298,868 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $12,209,000 after buying an additional 242,386 shares during the period. 67.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.