Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Lowered to "Underweight" Rating by Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Cleveland-Cliffs has been downgraded by Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating, indicating a significant shift in analyst sentiment.
• The company's stock is currently down 17.4% and has experienced fluctuations, with a 12-month low of $5.63 and a high of $16.70.
• Cleveland-Cliffs reported a quarterly earnings result of ($0.45) EPS, which surpassed expectations, but its revenue of $4.73 billion fell short of the analyst estimates of $4.90 billion.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $11.00 price objective on the mining company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target points to a potential downside of 17.66% from the stock's current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on CLF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Glj Research reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $5.75 price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Cleveland-Cliffs from $7.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. KeyCorp raised Cleveland-Cliffs from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.85 to $14.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.36.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Down 17.4%

Shares of NYSE CLF opened at $13.36 on Tuesday. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 12-month low of $5.63 and a 12-month high of $16.70. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $11.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.61 billion, a PE ratio of -3.93 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The mining company reported ($0.45) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.48) by $0.03. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 9.00%.The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.33) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CLF. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 61.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,615 shares of the mining company's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 3,285 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 19.7% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 188,885 shares of the mining company's stock worth $1,553,000 after purchasing an additional 31,083 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 1,293.8% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,255 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 8,591 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 34.9% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 186,950 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $1,537,000 after purchasing an additional 48,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 56,665 shares of the mining company's stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the period. 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.