Cleveland-Cliffs Inc (NYSE:CLF) – Equities research analysts at B. Riley boosted their FY2020 earnings estimates for shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report issued on Tuesday, January 14th, Zacks Investment Research reports. B. Riley analyst L. Pipes now anticipates that the mining company will post earnings of $1.15 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $0.99. B. Riley currently has a “Buy” rating and a $11.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley also issued estimates for Cleveland-Cliffs’ FY2021 earnings at $1.67 EPS.
Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Exane BNP Paribas began coverage on Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.25 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $15.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Cleveland-Cliffs from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Cleveland-Cliffs currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.14.
NYSE:CLF traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $7.55. 5,702,600 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,516,481. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $7.79 and its 200-day moving average is $7.98. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 12-month low of $6.59 and a 12-month high of $12.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86.
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CLF. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 8,000 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 2,376.1% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 255,460 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after acquiring an additional 245,143 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,668,119 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $22,413,000 after acquiring an additional 70,622 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 413,936 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $3,477,000 after acquiring an additional 72,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 201.4% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 226,145 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,900,000 after acquiring an additional 151,116 shares in the last quarter. 79.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
In other news, Director Robert P. Fisher, Jr. purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $7.94 per share, with a total value of $39,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $189,265.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Keith Koci purchased 12,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.11 per share, for a total transaction of $103,808.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $808,153.39. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Cleveland-Cliffs’s payout ratio is 11.27%.
Cleveland-Cliffs Company Profile
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc operates as an iron ore mining company in the United States. The company operates four iron ore mines in Michigan and Minnesota. It sells its products to integrated steel companies and steel producers in the United States and the Asia Pacific. The company was formerly known as Cliffs Natural Resources Inc and changed its name to Cleveland-Cliffs Inc in August 2017.