Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Trading Down 5.6% - Here's What Happened

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) was down 5.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $6.06 and last traded at $6.03. Approximately 25,724,151 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 63% from the average daily volume of 15,768,828 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CLF shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.25 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $17.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Glj Research cut shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating and set a $3.91 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cleveland-Cliffs presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.74.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average is $7.54 and its 200 day moving average is $9.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of -6.03 and a beta of 2.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The mining company reported ($0.92) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.78) by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative return on equity of 0.59% and a negative net margin of 2.31%. The business's revenue was down 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP James D. Graham sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.85, for a total value of $822,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 492,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,371,905.65. This represents a 19.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John T. Baldwin acquired 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.70 per share, for a total transaction of $34,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 133,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,159,074.90. The trade was a 3.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 96,956 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,100 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC increased its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 11,000 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,723 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 135,600 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.68% of the company's stock.

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.