Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Stock

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its Cleveland-Cliffs price target to $14 from $12 but maintained a “neutral” rating; the new target implies about 1.55% downside from the stock’s $14.22 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with three Buy, seven Hold, and two Sell ratings. The consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $14.18.
• Cleveland-Cliffs exceeded quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $0.28 versus the expected $0.24, while revenue rose 18.5% year over year to $5.61 billion. A company director also purchased 7,400 shares, and institutional investors own 67.68% of the stock.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Citigroup from $12.00 to $14.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the mining company's stock. Citigroup's price target would suggest a potential downside of 1.55% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. UBS Group set a $13.00 price target on Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Monday, September 7th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on Cleveland-Cliffs from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Glj Research raised their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $15.60 to $17.48 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $14.18.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Performance

Cleveland-Cliffs stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $14.22. 14,689,514 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,202,174. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $12.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.73, a P/E/G ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 2.09. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 1 year low of $7.73 and a 1 year high of $15.35.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 19th. The mining company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative return on equity of 6.83% and a negative net margin of 2.36%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.51) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cleveland-Cliffs will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Edilson Camara acquired 7,400 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.49 per share, for a total transaction of $99,826.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 64,717 shares in the company, valued at $873,032.33. This represents a 12.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CLF. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the 2nd quarter valued at $522,766,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 6.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,489,207 shares of the mining company's stock worth $130,873,000 after purchasing an additional 925,031 shares during the period. PointState Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the 2nd quarter worth about $61,805,000. Avala Global LP bought a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the 2nd quarter valued at about $58,325,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 208.2% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,021,829 shares of the mining company's stock worth $56,545,000 after acquiring an additional 4,067,994 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.68% of the company's stock.

Cleveland-Cliffs Company Profile

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc is an integrated North American steel producer headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The company operates across the steelmaking value chain, from mining and processing iron ore to producing and distributing finished steel products. Its operations include iron ore mines and pelletizing facilities, steel mills, finishing plants, and related manufacturing and distribution assets.

The company produces carbon steel, stainless steel, electrical steel, and other specialty products, including hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized sheet steel.

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