Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Given New $12.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised its Cleveland-Cliffs price target to $12 from $11 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying roughly 1.3% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but centers on “Hold”: two analysts rate the stock Buy, seven Hold, and two Sell, with an average price target of $11.96.
• Cleveland-Cliffs shares rose 5.1% to $11.85. In its latest quarter, the company reported an adjusted loss of $0.20 per share—slightly better than estimates—and revenue of $5.23 billion, up 5.9% year over year.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $11.00 to $12.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the mining company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 1.30% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CLF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Glj Research upgraded shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $15.01 to $15.60 in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $12.50 price objective (up from $12.00) on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.96.

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Up 5.1%

Cleveland-Cliffs stock traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $11.85. The company had a trading volume of 6,880,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,277,988. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 12-month low of $7.73 and a 12-month high of $16.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $11.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.75. The firm has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.36 and a beta of 2.09.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The mining company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.01. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative return on equity of 13.37% and a negative net margin of 4.56%.The firm had revenue of $5.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.50) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, EVP Celso L. Goncalves, Jr. sold 214,308 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.41, for a total transaction of $2,873,870.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 184,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,474,708.22. The trade was a 53.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.95% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the first quarter worth about $339,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 49,955 shares of the mining company's stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 10,733 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 143,264 shares of the mining company's stock worth $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 6,073 shares in the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 47.4% in the 2nd quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 22,167 shares of the mining company's stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 7,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 20.3% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,081,241 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $23,417,000 after purchasing an additional 520,120 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.68% of the company's stock.

About Cleveland-Cliffs

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc is a leading North American producer of iron ore pellets and flat-rolled steel products. Tracing its roots to 1847, the company has evolved from an iron-ore mining concern in the Great Lakes region into a fully integrated steelmaker. Today, Cleveland-Cliffs operates iron ore mining complexes in Michigan and Minnesota as well as steelmaking and finishing facilities across the United States.

The company's integrated platform begins with direct control of key raw materials, including iron ore and scrap, and extends through every stage of steel production.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source