Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 2,012 Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,150 shares of the mining company’s stock after buying an additional 2,012 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs were worth $820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 81.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 158,096 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $3,228,000 after purchasing an additional 71,105 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $795,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,896,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $839,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,347,000. 67.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of CLF stock opened at $18.25 on Friday. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.61 and a 1 year high of $22.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.99. The company has a market cap of $8.67 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 2.03.

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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on CLF. StockNews.com lowered Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Argus lowered Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Cleveland-Cliffs from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cleveland-Cliffs presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.75.

Insider Transactions at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, Director Arlene M. Yocum purchased 2,000 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.02 per share, for a total transaction 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Arlene M. Yocum acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.02 per share, with a total value of $40,040.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan Miranda Green sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.40, for a total value of $132,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 90,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,841,834.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 221,066 shares of company stock worth $4,464,688. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.