Zacks Research Predicts Lower Earnings for Cleveland-Cliffs

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q3 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 21st. Zacks Research analyst A. Barman now forecasts that the mining company will post earnings of $0.06 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.13. The consensus estimate for Cleveland-Cliffs' current full-year earnings is ($0.79) per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Cleveland-Cliffs' Q4 2026 earnings at $0.01 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.06 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $0.48 EPS.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The mining company reported ($0.92) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.78) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative return on equity of 0.59% and a negative net margin of 2.31%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.18 EPS.

CLF has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Glj Research dropped their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $14.54 to $12.90 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $14.02.

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock traded down $0.07 on Thursday, hitting $6.42. 35,910,803 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,658,901. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $7.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of -6.62 and a beta of 2.03. Cleveland-Cliffs has a one year low of $6.05 and a one year high of $17.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs in the 1st quarter worth $339,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs in the 1st quarter worth $22,696,000. First Dallas Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 245,240 shares of the mining company's stock worth $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 43,740 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs in the 1st quarter worth $794,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 520,716 shares of the mining company's stock worth $4,280,000 after purchasing an additional 17,993 shares during the period. 67.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jane M. Cronin purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.56 per share, with a total value of $105,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 24,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $258,952.32. This represents a 68.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James D. Graham sold 120,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 492,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,371,905.65. This trade represents a 19.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders bought 23,500 shares of company stock valued at $243,095 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.71% 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.