Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Hits New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $12.50 to $11.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Cleveland-Cliffs traded as low as $9.51 and last traded at $9.54, with a volume of 16899104 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.89.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Cleveland-Cliffs from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $15.00 to $13.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Cleveland-Cliffs from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.22.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CLF. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 299.8% in the third quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the second quarter worth $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the third quarter worth $34,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 231.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 2,539 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $12.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.67 and a beta of 1.92.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The mining company reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.31) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $4.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.72 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative return on equity of 0.59% and a negative net margin of 2.31%. The company’s revenue was down 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post -0.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cleveland-Cliffs Company Profile

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.