Short Interest in Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) Increases By 22.9%

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 54,300,000 shares, an increase of 22.9% from the November 30th total of 44,170,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 13,680,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days. Approximately 11.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:CLF traded up $0.10 on Tuesday, reaching $9.40. 11,819,357 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,822,583. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.69 and a beta of 1.93. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 52-week low of $8.99 and a 52-week high of $22.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $11.74 and a 200-day moving average of $12.99.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The mining company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $4.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.72 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative return on equity of 0.59% and a negative net margin of 2.31%. The business’s revenue was down 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CLF shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $15.00 to $13.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com cut Cleveland-Cliffs from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.22.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CLF. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 299.8% during the 3rd quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,490 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 231.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,539 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

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.