Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Stock Price

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) had its price target cut by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $12.00 to $9.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the mining company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.87% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on CLF. KeyCorp lowered Cleveland-Cliffs from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Glj Research restated a “sell” rating and set a $9.42 price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Monday, February 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.59.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

NYSE CLF traded down $0.14 on Thursday, reaching $8.05. 2,931,918 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,540,027. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.23. 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 company has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.76 and a beta of 1.99. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 12 month low of $5.63 and a 12 month high of $16.70.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Clifford T. Smith sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was 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 owned 560,529 shares in the company, valued at $5,863,133.34. This trade represents a 26.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Edilson Camara purchased 19,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.13 per share, for a total transaction of $199,561.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 41,983 shares in the company, valued at $425,287.79. This represents a 88.41% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CLF. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,391,397 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $722,318,000 after acquiring an additional 6,447,462 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,278,156 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $388,814,000 after purchasing an additional 3,632,150 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP raised its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 572.4% during the 4th quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 18,083,029 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $240,143,000 after purchasing an additional 15,393,507 shares during the period. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. raised its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 90.1% during the 4th quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 12,358,230 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $164,117,000 after purchasing an additional 5,855,830 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,039,851 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $133,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,042 shares in the last quarter. 67.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.