Analysts Set Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) Price Target at $19.44

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the ten brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.44.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Cleveland-Cliffs to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Performance

NYSE:CLF opened at $15.40 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $16.22 and its 200-day moving average is $18.73. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 52-week low of $13.84 and a 52-week high of $22.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 2.03.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The mining company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.01). Cleveland-Cliffs had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.78%. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.11) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cleveland-Cliffs will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Cleveland-Cliffs declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, April 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the mining company to repurchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Cleveland-Cliffs

In related news, CFO Celso L. Goncalves, Jr. bought 7,250 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.98 per share, for a total transaction of $108,605.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 314,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,709,142.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, CFO Celso L. Goncalves, Jr. acquired 7,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.98 per share, for a total transaction of $108,605.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 314,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,709,142.76. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ron A. Bloom acquired 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.00 per share, for a total transaction of $425,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 59,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,018,300. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 98,950 shares of company stock worth $1,639,638. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CLF. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the third quarter worth $52,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 3.0% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 483,676 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $7,560,000 after purchasing an additional 14,030 shares during the period. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 37.2% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 43,582 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 11,807 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 303.4% in the third quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 58,402 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 43,926 shares during the period. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the third quarter worth $440,000. 67.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cleveland-Cliffs Company Profile

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.