Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Stock Rating Upgraded by Argus

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) was upgraded by analysts at Argus to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Glj Research reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $9.42 price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cleveland-Cliffs presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.99.

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Up 4.3%

NYSE CLF traded up $0.38 on Monday, hitting $9.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,995,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,296,971. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 1-year low of $5.63 and a 1-year high of $16.70. The company’s 50-day moving average is $10.37 and its 200 day moving average is $11.95. The firm has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of -3.11 and a beta of 1.91.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last announced 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. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 7.91% and a negative return on equity of 18.94%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.68) EPS. The company’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, CEO Lourenco Goncalves sold 3,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.42, for a total value of $37,260,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Edilson Camara purchased 19,700 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.13 per share, with a total value of $199,561.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 41,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $425,287.79. This trade represents a 88.41% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 1,059.4% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 318,247 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $4,214,000 after buying an additional 290,797 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,378 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 6,176 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter valued at $387,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 221,437 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $3,047,000 after buying an additional 87,975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 3,987.9% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 98,559 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after buying an additional 96,148 shares in the last quarter. 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.