Ray Dalio Joins Hedge Funds Buying Cliffs After Trump Tariffs
Cliffs Become Hedge-Fund Darling, Luring Ray Dalio, Fidelity
(Bloomberg) -- Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., the top U.S. iron-ore producer, is reaping the gains from U.S. President Donald Trump’s steel tariffs. Hedge funds including billionaire Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates LP have taken notice.
Money managers increased their position in Cliffs by 13.9 million shares in the first quarter, taking their combined stake in the company to about 160 million shares, according to data on over 4,000 regulatory filings compiled by Bloomberg as of 4 p.m. in New York. Fidelity Management & Research tripled its stake to become the iron ore producer’s third largest shareholder, Bridgewater added 1.89 million shares to his holdings, the second-largest position increase in his portfolio of U.S. listed securities.
Investors piled into Cliffs before the company beat earnings estimates and raised its sales forecast amid optimism over robust U.S. demand for iron ore used in steelmaking. The company’s shares have jumped 23 percent this quarter, after sliding 3.6 percent in the first three months of the year.
Trump announced on March 1 his administration’s decision to slap a 25 percent tariff on U.S. steel imports, helping domestic producers whose margins have been squeezed by a global glut.
Filings released this month do not include hedge funds’ current position, which may have changed since the end of the quarter. Money managers who oversee more than $100 million in the U.S. must file a Form 13F within 45 days of each quarter’s end to list those stocks as well as options and convertible bonds. The filings don’t show non-U.S. securities, holdings that aren’t publicly traded, or cash.
To contact the reporter on this story: Luzi Ann Javier in New York at ljavier@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Attwood at jattwood3@bloomberg.net, Joe Richter
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