The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Stock Price

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $13.00 to $11.25 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the mining company's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target indicates a potential upside of 49.90% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and issued a $17.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Glj Research cut their price objective on Cleveland-Cliffs from $14.54 to $12.90 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $15.02.

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Up 7.2%

CLF traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $7.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 28,863,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,883,703. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.74 and a beta of 2.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.11. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 52-week low of $6.17 and a 52-week high of $18.10.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 0.59% and a negative net margin of 2.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Keith Koci purchased 9,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.81 per share, for a total transaction of $102,695.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 543,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,874,964.75. This trade represents a 1.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John T. Baldwin purchased 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.70 per share, with a total value of $34,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 133,227 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 23,500 shares of company stock valued at $243,095. 1.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Slate Path Capital LP grew its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. Slate Path Capital LP now owns 16,208,000 shares of the mining company's stock worth $152,355,000 after buying an additional 4,239,000 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,382,769 shares of the mining company's stock worth $69,398,000 after buying an additional 1,236,247 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 105.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 262,771 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $3,429,000 after purchasing an additional 134,939 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $18,999,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,751,789 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $458,267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,556,332 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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