Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF)‘s stock had its “sell” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Cowen in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.
The analysts wrote, “Cliffs yesterday announced its intention to idle pelletizing operations at Wabush and transition to a more cost effective concentrate product beginning in the second half of 2013. The move was indeed anticipated by the market considering the recent economics of the facility, though it did happen earlier than expected (the facility was running in order to fulfill customer contracts). While we believe the move is a prudent one, the cost guidance seems a bit aggressive, in our opinion. The 4Q12 cash costs were $166/mt, and we would expect similar (perhaps slightly better) performance in 1H13 until the facility is idled. New full-year guidance of $115-$120/mt implies a 2H13 cost that appears unrealistic considering our estimates for 1H13 costs.”
Cliffs Natural Resources traded up 0.23% on Tuesday, hitting $23.885. Cliffs Natural Resources has a 1-year low of $23.56 and a 1-year high of $73.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $31.15. The company’s market cap is $3.404 billion.
Cliffs Natural Resources last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Cliffs Natural Resources will post $1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.
A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on CLF. Analysts at BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Cliffs Natural Resources in a research note to investors on Tuesday. They now have a $27.00 price target on the stock. Separately, analysts at Zacks reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Cliffs Natural Resources in a research note to investors on Friday. They now have a $23.00 price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at TheStreet reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cliffs Natural Resources in a research note to investors on Wednesday, March 6th.
Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, eighteen have given a hold rating, and three have issued a sell rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “hold” and an average target price of $32.59.
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. is an international mining and natural resources company. The Company is an iron ore producer and a producer of metallurgical coal.
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