Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Upgraded to “Hold” at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Glj Research restated a “sell” rating and set a $9.42 price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $12.80 to $17.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $9.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.99.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

Cleveland-Cliffs stock traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $9.13. 4,431,329 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,276,121. The firm has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.13 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.95. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 1-year low of $5.63 and a 1-year high of $16.70.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The mining company reported ($0.43) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.60 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 7.91% and a negative return on equity of 18.94%. Cleveland-Cliffs’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.68) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, COO Clifford T. Smith sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.46, for a total value of $2,092,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 560,529 shares in the company, valued at $5,863,133.34. This trade represents a 26.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Lourenco Goncalves sold 3,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.42, for a total transaction of $37,260,000.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 0.9% in the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 99,649 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,216,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted 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 worth $1,855,000 after buying an additional 943 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 3.0% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 33,118 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 960 shares during the period. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. now owns 26,752 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 973 shares during the period. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. now owns 9,500 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 67.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cleveland-Cliffs Company Profile

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.