Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Stock Price Up 9.4% - Here's Why

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) shares traded up 9.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $9.84 and last traded at $9.69. 18,677,909 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 3% from the average session volume of 19,337,382 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Glj Research lowered shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating and set a $3.91 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.25 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cleveland-Cliffs presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.23.

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Up 0.9%

The firm has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.04 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $7.57 and a 200 day moving average of $8.78.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The mining company reported ($0.92) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.78) by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 6.35% and a negative return on equity of 12.84%. The firm's revenue was down 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.85, for a total value of $822,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 492,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,371,905.65. This represents a 19.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 12.2% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 37,431 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,155,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 44.2% during the 2nd quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 9,159 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 2,806 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 41.2% during the 2nd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 130,560 shares of the mining company's stock worth $992,000 after acquiring an additional 38,125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.