Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Stock

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $11.00 to $12.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the mining company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 1.30% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CLF. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $12.50 price target (up from $12.00) on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America decreased their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $14.00 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Glj Research upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $15.01 to $15.60 in a report on Friday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.96.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

NYSE CLF traded up $0.58 on Monday, hitting $11.85. The company had a trading volume of 6,880,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,277,988. The company has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a PE ratio of -7.36 and a beta of 2.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $11.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 12-month low of $7.73 and a 12-month high of $16.70.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The mining company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 4.56% and a negative return on equity of 13.37%. The company’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.50) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Celso L. Goncalves, Jr. sold 214,308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.41, for a total transaction of $2,873,870.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 184,542 shares in the company, valued at $2,474,708.22. This trade represents a 53.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 119.0% during the first quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 3,322 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,805 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 117.5% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,221 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 94.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,505 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

About Cleveland-Cliffs

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.