The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Stock

Key Points

• The Goldman Sachs Group has increased its price target for Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) from $12.85 to $14.50, maintaining a "buy" rating, indicating a potential upside of 1.82% from its current price.
• Other analysts have also raised their price targets for CLF, with KeyCorp and Morgan Stanley setting targets of $14.00 and $10.50, respectively, reflecting a generally positive outlook on the stock.
• Cleveland-Cliffs recently reported a quarterly revenue of $4.93 billion, beating estimates and marking a 7.5% year-over-year increase, despite reporting a negative earnings per share of ($0.50).

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $12.85 to $14.50 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the mining company's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target would indicate a potential upside of 1.82% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on CLF. KeyCorp raised Cleveland-Cliffs from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $8.00 to $10.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $7.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $9.50 to $12.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cleveland-Cliffs currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.60.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Performance

CLF stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $14.24. 24,347,172 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 24,714,238. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.18 and a beta of 1.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.11. Cleveland-Cliffs has a twelve month low of $5.63 and a twelve month high of $14.51.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The mining company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.68) by $0.18. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative return on equity of 17.97% and a negative net margin of 9.03%.The business had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. Cleveland-Cliffs's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLF. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 0.9% during 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 period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 26,480 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 105,791 shares of the mining company's stock worth $870,000 after buying an additional 1,371 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 0.5% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 297,128 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $2,258,000 after buying an additional 1,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 56,665 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the last quarter. 67.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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