Stock analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) in a research note issued on Thursday. The firm set a "hold" rating on the mining company's stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CLF. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $16.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $13.60 to $26.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 11th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $21.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned  a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.11.

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Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Down 8.9 %

NYSE CLF opened at $17.66 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 2.09. Cleveland-Cliffs has a one year low of $11.82 and a one year high of $34.04. The firm has a market cap of $9.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.04 and a beta of 2.25.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 13th. The mining company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.33) by $0.03. Cleveland-Cliffs had a net margin of 5.81% and a return on equity of 22.07%. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis.  Equities research analysts anticipate that  Cleveland-Cliffs will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Douglas C. Taylor sold 42,000 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.25, for a total value of $892,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 118,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,517,466.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, Director Susan Miranda Green sold 8,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.66, for a total value of $197,142.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,979,418.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Douglas C. Taylor sold 42,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.25, for a total transaction of $892,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 118,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,517,466.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own  1.43% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of  Cleveland-Cliffs during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000.  Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of  Cleveland-Cliffs by 218.1% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the mining company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares in the last quarter.  AXS Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of  Cleveland-Cliffs during the 4th quarter worth $31,000.  Destiny Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of  Cleveland-Cliffs during the 4th quarter worth $32,000.  Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of  Cleveland-Cliffs during the 1st quarter worth $64,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cleveland-Cliffs Company Profile

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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.