Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Cleveland-Cliffs Call Options (NYSE:CLF)

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors bought 57,853 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 43% compared to the average volume of 40,382 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Glj Research reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $9.42 price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Morgan Stanley raised Cleveland-Cliffs from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $12.80 to $17.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.59.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Performance

Shares of CLF traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $8.09. 14,925,966 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,890,162. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 52-week low of $5.63 and a 52-week high of $16.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of -2.78 and a beta of 1.99. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The mining company reported ($0.43) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.60 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 7.91% and a negative return on equity of 18.94%. The firm’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.68) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, Director Edilson Camara purchased 19,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.13 per share, for a total transaction of $199,561.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 41,983 shares in the company, valued at $425,287.79. The trade was a 88.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lourenco Goncalves sold 3,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.42, for a total value of $37,260,000.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 0.9% during the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 99,649 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 152,009 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,855,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 3.0% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 33,118 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. now owns 26,752 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. now owns 9,500 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

Cleveland-Cliffs Company Profile

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc is a leading North American producer of iron ore pellets and flat-rolled steel products. Tracing its roots to 1847, the company has evolved from an iron-ore mining concern in the Great Lakes region into a fully integrated steelmaker. Today, Cleveland-Cliffs operates iron ore mining complexes in Michigan and Minnesota as well as steelmaking and finishing facilities across the United States.

The company’s integrated platform begins with direct control of key raw materials, including iron ore and scrap, and extends through every stage of steel production.