JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Target Price to $23.00

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) had its target price cut by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the mining company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 26.06% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $16.50 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Argus lowered shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Citigroup lowered shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.75.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

NYSE:CLF opened at $18.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 2.03. Cleveland-Cliffs has a one year low of $13.61 and a one year high of $22.97. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The mining company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.34 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 8.69%. Cleveland-Cliffs’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.11) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Cleveland-Cliffs will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cleveland-Cliffs declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, April 22nd that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the mining company to repurchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, Director Susan Miranda Green sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.40, for a total transaction of $132,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 90,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,841,834.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Arlene M. Yocum purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.02 per share, for a total transaction of $40,040.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 94,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,899,637.74. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan Miranda Green sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.40, for a total transaction of $132,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 90,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,841,834.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 221,066 shares of company stock worth $4,464,688. Company insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CLF. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 83.7% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,571 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 2,858.0% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,429 shares during the period. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 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.