Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) was the target of a large decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 28,290,000 shares, a decline of 9.3% from the March 31st total of 31,190,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 8,870,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Currently, 5.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE CLF traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $18.06. The company had a trading volume of 8,674,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,831,008. Cleveland-Cliffs has a fifty-two week low of $13.61 and a fifty-two week high of $22.97. The company has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 2.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $20.87 and its 200 day moving average is $19.05.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The mining company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.01). Cleveland-Cliffs had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.11) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cleveland-Cliffs will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cleveland-Cliffs announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, April 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the mining company to repurchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other news, Director Arlene M. Yocum purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.02 per share, with a total value of $40,040.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 94,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,899,637.74. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Arlene M. Yocum bought 2,000 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.02 per share, with a total value of $40,040.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 94,887 shares in the company, valued at $1,899,637.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ron A. Bloom bought 25,000 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.24 per share, for a total transaction of $506,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 27,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $550,953.04. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 221,066 shares of company stock valued at $4,464,688 in the last quarter. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLF. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs in the 4th quarter valued at about $117,585,000. Peconic Partners LLC purchased a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,370,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 154.2% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,586,472 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $40,181,000 after buying an additional 1,568,961 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 240.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,988,689 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $31,083,000 after buying an additional 1,404,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,928,000. 67.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.75.

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.