Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Downgraded by Glj Research to “Strong Sell”

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) was downgraded by investment analysts at Glj Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $3.91 price objective on the mining company’s stock. Glj Research’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 34.29% from the stock’s previous close.

CLF has been the subject of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.25 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.74.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Performance

CLF stock opened at $5.95 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $7.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.61. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.13 and a beta of 2.03. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 1-year low of $5.93 and a 1-year high of $17.41.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last announced 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 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Cleveland-Cliffs

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 stock was sold at an average price of $6.85, for a total value of $822,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 492,249 shares in the company, valued at $3,371,905.65. This represents a 19.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jane M. Cronin bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.56 per share, for a total transaction of $105,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,952.32. The trade was a 68.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 23,500 shares of company stock worth $243,095. Insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Estabrook Capital Management boosted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 207.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 130.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 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.