Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $22.00 price target on the mining company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. TheStreet downgraded shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a b- rating to a c rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com cut Cleveland-Cliffs from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Argus downgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, B. Riley cut their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cleveland-Cliffs has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $20.64.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Performance

Shares of CLF stock opened at $16.92 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 2.10. Cleveland-Cliffs has a one year low of $13.61 and a one year high of $22.97. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The mining company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.34 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.11) EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Cleveland-Cliffs will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cleveland-Cliffs declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, April 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the mining company to purchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Terry G. Fedor sold 27,430 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.19, for a total transaction of $553,811.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 534,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,793,917.23. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Arlene M. Yocum bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.02 per share, with a total value of $40,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 94,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,899,637.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Terry G. Fedor sold 27,430 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.19, for a total value of $553,811.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 534,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,793,917.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 87,000 shares of company stock worth $1,470,640 and have sold 221,066 shares worth $4,464,688. 1.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CLF. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 2,858.0% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 83.7% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,571 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 67.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cleveland-Cliffs

Cleveland-Cliffs is the largest flat-rolled steel company and the largest iron ore pellet producer in North America. The company is vertically integrated from mining through iron making, steelmaking, rolling, finishing and downstream with hot and cold stamping of steel parts and components. The company was formerly known as Cliffs Natural Resources Inc and changed its name to Cleveland-Cliffs Inc in August 2017.