Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Trims Holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its position in Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) by 42.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,568 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 33,713 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs were worth $1,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the fourth quarter worth $117,585,000. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT lifted its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 4,037,507 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $82,446,000 after purchasing an additional 334,739 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,542,004 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $72,328,000 after purchasing an additional 194,948 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 3,374,716 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $76,741,000 after purchasing an additional 410,182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 2,214,119 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $50,349,000 after purchasing an additional 110,805 shares in the last quarter. 67.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Up 1.4 %

CLF stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $15.47. The company had a trading volume of 7,312,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,215,131. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 2.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.76 and a 200 day moving average of $18.37. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.84 and a 12 month high of $22.97.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The mining company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Cleveland-Cliffs had a net margin of 0.21% and a return on equity of 4.94%. The firm had revenue of $5.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cleveland-Cliffs announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, April 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the mining company to reacquire up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CLF. StockNews.com cut shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Cleveland-Cliffs to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.44.

Cleveland-Cliffs 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.