Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) Short Interest Update

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 48,120,000 shares, a growth of 6.1% from the September 15th total of 45,350,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 11,910,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days. Approximately 10.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Performance

Shares of CLF stock traded up $0.61 on Thursday, hitting $13.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,980,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,850,225. Cleveland-Cliffs has a fifty-two week low of $10.21 and a fifty-two week high of $22.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 1.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $12.55 and its 200-day moving average is $15.47. The company has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a PE ratio of 18.47 and a beta of 1.98.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The mining company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a net margin of 0.21% and a return on equity of 4.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $18.00 to $12.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Cleveland-Cliffs from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $15.00 to $13.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.56.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Secure Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs in the 3rd quarter valued at about $355,000. Beech Hill Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Beech Hill Advisors Inc. now owns 62,500 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $798,000 after acquiring an additional 7,850 shares in the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 58.5% during the 3rd quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 133,717 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,708,000 after acquiring an additional 49,359 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,472,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 103.3% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 24,892 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 12,649 shares in the last quarter. 67.68% of the stock is 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.