Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) Receives $15.49 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $15.49.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CLF shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Glj Research reduced their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $14.54 to $12.90 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLF opened at $8.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of -9.14 and a beta of 1.93. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 12 month low of $6.17 and a 12 month high of $18.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $8.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.35.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The mining company reported ($0.68) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.65) by ($0.03). Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 2.31% and a negative return on equity of 0.59%. The business had revenue of $4.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.46 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Cleveland-Cliffs

In related news, EVP Keith Koci acquired 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $10.81 per share, for a total transaction of $102,695.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 543,475 shares in the company, valued at $5,874,964.75. This represents a 1.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jane M. Cronin acquired 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $10.56 per share, for a total transaction of $105,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 24,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,952.32. This trade represents a 68.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 23,500 shares of company stock valued at $243,095. Insiders own 1.76% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Slate Path Capital LP raised its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 35.4% during the fourth quarter. Slate Path Capital LP now owns 16,208,000 shares of the mining company's stock worth $152,355,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239,000 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,382,769 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $69,398,000 after buying an additional 1,236,247 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 105.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 262,771 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $3,429,000 after buying an additional 134,939 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs during the 4th quarter worth about $18,999,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,751,789 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $458,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,556,332 shares in the last quarter. 67.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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