Griffin Asset Management Inc. Lowers Position in Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) by 54.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,485 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 39,355 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs were worth $739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 716 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 2,858.0% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429 shares in the last quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 50.3% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,850 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. 67.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CLF opened at $15.39 on Friday. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.84 and a 52-week high of $22.97. 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. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The mining company reported $0.18 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.11) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Cleveland-Cliffs announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, April 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the mining company to buy up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ron A. Bloom purchased 25,000 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.00 per share, with a total value of $425,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 59,900 shares in the company, valued at $1,018,300. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Ron A. Bloom acquired 25,000 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.00 per share, for a total transaction of $425,000.00. Following the acquisition, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ben Oren bought 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.99 per share, with a total value of $100,433.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 14,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $212,363.33. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 98,950 shares of company stock valued at $1,639,638 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on CLF shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Monday, May 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Cleveland-Cliffs to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Cleveland-Cliffs from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cleveland-Cliffs has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.