Griffin Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) by 54.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 32,485 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 39,355 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs were worth $739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 1.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,053 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $570,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 216,359 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $4,249,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 50.3% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,850 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 83.7% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,571 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 57,546 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the period. 67.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Performance

NYSE:CLF opened at $15.39 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.98. 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 stock has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.80, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 2.08. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.84 and a 1-year high of $22.97.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The mining company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.01). Cleveland-Cliffs had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.11) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cleveland-Cliffs announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, April 22nd that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the mining company to repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ron A. Bloom purchased 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.00 per share, for a total transaction of $425,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 59,900 shares in the company, valued at $1,018,300. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Ron A. Bloom bought 25,000 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.00 per share, with a total value of $425,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 59,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,018,300. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lourenco Goncalves bought 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.76 per share, with a total value of $1,005,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,759,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,242,331.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 98,950 shares of company stock worth $1,639,638. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CLF has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Cleveland-Cliffs from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.44.

About Cleveland-Cliffs

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.