JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Price Target to $12.00

Key Points

• JPMorgan lowered Cleveland-Cliffs’ price target from $13.00 to $12.00 while maintaining a “neutral” rating, implying approximately 7.3% downside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but averages to a “Hold” rating, with three Buys, six Holds and two Sells; the consensus price target is $12.35.
• CLF shares rose 6.2% to $12.95, while the company reported a quarterly loss of $0.20 per share, slightly better than expectations, and revenue of $5.23 billion, up 5.9% year over year.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $13.00 to $12.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the mining company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price indicates a potential downside of 7.30% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on CLF. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Citigroup reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $14.00 to $11.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Glj Research boosted their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $15.60 to $17.48 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $12.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.35.

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Up 6.2%

CLF traded up $0.76 on Friday, hitting $12.95. 20,420,119 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,495,980. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.89. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 12 month low of $7.73 and a 12 month high of $16.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a PE ratio of -8.02 and a beta of 2.09.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The mining company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 4.56% and a negative return on equity of 13.37%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.50) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the 2nd quarter valued at about $522,766,000. Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 572.4% during the 4th quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 18,083,029 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $240,143,000 after buying an additional 15,393,507 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,489,207 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $130,873,000 after acquiring an additional 925,031 shares during the period. Turiya Advisors Asia Ltd bought a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,280,000. Finally, PointState Capital LP purchased a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,805,000. 67.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cleveland-Cliffs Company Profile

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc is an integrated steel producer headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The company operates across the steelmaking value chain, including the mining and processing of iron ore, production of iron ore pellets, and manufacturing of finished steel products.

Cleveland-Cliffs primarily produces flat-rolled carbon steel, including hot-rolled, cold-rolled and galvanized products, as well as coated and specialty steel. Its products are used in automotive manufacturing, construction, infrastructure, appliances, machinery and other industrial applications.

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