IFM Investors Pty Ltd Acquires 1,181 Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 89,038 shares of the mining company’s stock after buying an additional 1,181 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs were worth $2,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 83.7% during the fourth 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 during the period. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 2,858.0% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 67.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cleveland-Cliffs Price Performance

NYSE CLF traded down $0.35 on Friday, reaching $17.88. The company had a trading volume of 9,278,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,426,657. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.99. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.61 and a 12 month high of $22.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a PE ratio of 24.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 2.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last issued its 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 return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.78%. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.11) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cleveland-Cliffs declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, April 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the mining company to repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, Director Arlene M. Yocum bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.02 per share, with a total value of $40,040.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 94,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,899,637.74. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Arlene M. Yocum purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.02 per share, for a total transaction of $40,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 94,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,899,637.74. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Lourenco Goncalves sold 187,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.19, for a total value of $3,778,275.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,699,089 shares in the company, valued at $54,494,606.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 221,066 shares of company stock valued at $4,464,688 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, TheStreet lowered Cleveland-Cliffs from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cleveland-Cliffs presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.75.

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.