Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Trading Up 6.8% – Still a Buy?

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) rose 6.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $12.33 and last traded at $12.3250. 2,346,691 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 19,001,582 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CLF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Glj Research upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $15.01 to $15.60 in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.96.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Down 0.8%

The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.68. The company has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a PE ratio of -7.60 and a beta of 2.10.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The mining company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 4.56% and a negative return on equity of 13.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.50) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post -0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Cleveland-Cliffs

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the 1st quarter worth approximately $339,000. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 27.4% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 49,955 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 10,733 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 4.4% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 143,264 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,088,000 after buying an additional 6,073 shares in the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 47.4% during the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 22,167 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 7,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 20.3% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,081,241 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $23,417,000 after buying an additional 520,120 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.