CLF Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money CLF call expiring Oct 23, 2026, priced from the settled chain: what it pays, what it yields, and where the trade stops making money. The richest right now is the $12.50 strike at 6.8% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
CLF covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $12.15 share price, not by delta — the published chain carries premiums and open interest, not greeks, and inventing a delta here would be inventing data. Premium is the bid/ask midpoint where both sides quote, otherwise the last trade. The chain artifact publishes the six nearest expirations, so this is the longest one listed — 36 days out. Annualising anything shorter than a week says more about compounding arithmetic than about the trade, so those cells stay blank.
| Strike | % OTM | Premium | Yield | Annualised | Break-even | If assigned | OI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $12.50 | 2.9% | $0.83 | 6.8% | 68.8% | $11.33 | 9.7% | 68 |
| $13.00 | 7.0% | $0.65 | 5.3% | 54.2% | $11.50 | 12.3% | 315 |
| $13.50 | 11.1% | $0.49 | 4.0% | 40.5% | $11.67 | 15.1% | 32 |
What the $12.50 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $12.15. Profit caps at $117.50 if CLF finishes above $12.50; below $11.33 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $9.11 | $-2.21 | $-221.25 |
| $9.87 | $-1.45 | $-145.31 |
| $10.63 | $-0.69 | $-69.37 |
| $11.39 | +$0.07 | +$6.56 |
| $12.15 | +$0.83 | +$82.50 |
| $12.91 | +$1.17 | +$117.50 |
| $13.67 | +$1.17 | +$117.50 |
| $14.43 | +$1.17 | +$117.50 |
| $15.19 | +$1.17 | +$117.50 |
When a covered call fits CLF
A covered call sells someone else the right to buy your shares at the strike. It pays you today and caps your upside there, so it suits a holding you are content to own flat and content to sell at the strike — not one you expect to run.
The premium is compensation for implied volatility. Rich implied volatility pays more, and usually pays more because the market expects a move; a high annualised number on a name about to report earnings is a warning as often as an opportunity. Check the CLF expected move and the open-interest walls before assuming the strike is far enough away.
Full mechanics, assignment and rolling are in the covered call guide; to model a different strike or a multi-leg version, open the profit calculator with CLF loaded.
Questions
- What does a CLF covered call pay right now?
- The $12.50 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $0.83 per share, 6.8% of the $12.15 share price, or 68.8% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a CLF covered call?
- Selling the $12.50 call against stock bought at $12.15 breaks even at $11.33 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if CLF closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $12.50. Total return is 9.7%: the premium plus the move from $12.15 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on CLF
Run the numbers
Weekly options-market digest
Sundays. What moved this week, what catalysts and earnings drive next week, and which 5-pillar setups stand out.
Free. One email per week. Unsubscribe with one click.
Educational, not investment advice. Options involve risk. Open interest is reported with a one-session lag by OCC, so these levels describe positioning as of the last settled session, not live intraday flow.