Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Stock Price Down 3.9% - Time to Sell?

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) shares dropped 3.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $7.21 and last traded at $7.25. Approximately 11,459,586 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 17,144,298 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CLF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Glj Research lowered 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 report on Wednesday, May 28th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $17.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.25 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cleveland-Cliffs currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.74.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.84 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company's 50-day moving average price is $7.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.36.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP James D. Graham sold 120,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.85, for a total transaction of $822,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 492,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,371,905.65. This represents a 19.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John T. Baldwin bought 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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. This trade represents a 3.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.71% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLF. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Estabrook Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 207.7% during the fourth quarter. Estabrook Capital Management now owns 4,000 shares of the mining company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 130.0% during the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 4,600 shares of the mining company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. 67.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.