Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Stock Price Up 5.5% - Here's What Happened

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 5.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $7.49 and last traded at $7.43. Approximately 9,834,605 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 18,447,003 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CLF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. B. Riley restated 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.25 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Glj Research cut Cleveland-Cliffs from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating and set a $3.91 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cleveland-Cliffs currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.23.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Down 0.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 2.13. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $7.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.84. The firm has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.04 and a beta of 1.85.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The mining company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.78) by ($0.14). Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 6.35% and a negative return on equity of 12.84%. The business had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.18 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post -0.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, EVP James D. Graham sold 120,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.85, for a total transaction of $822,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 492,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,371,905.65. This trade represents a 19.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.76% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 123.1% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 657,499 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $5,405,000 after acquiring an additional 362,730 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the 1st quarter valued at $339,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the 1st quarter valued at $22,696,000. First Dallas Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 245,240 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $2,016,000 after acquiring an additional 43,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scientech Research LLC bought a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the 1st quarter valued at $794,000. 67.68% of the stock is currently 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.