Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Trading Up 6.8% – Still a Buy?

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF)’s share price traded up 6.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $12.33 and last traded at $12.3250. 2,346,691 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 19,001,582 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America decreased their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.96.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $10.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.53 and a beta of 2.10.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cleveland-Cliffs

In related news, EVP Celso L. Goncalves, Jr. sold 214,308 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.41, for a total value of $2,873,870.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 184,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,474,708.22. The trade was a 53.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CLF. Corient Private Wealth LP raised its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 39,342 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 5,531 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 759.3% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 144,190 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,354,000 after buying an additional 127,411 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 13.6% during the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 64,147 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $602,000 after buying an additional 7,675 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 838.3% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,213,316 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $58,343,000 after buying an additional 5,551,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP raised its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 160.8% during the second quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 549,184 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $5,157,000 after acquiring an additional 338,608 shares in the last quarter. 67.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.