Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:CLF) is a leading mining and natural resources company. Cliffs is the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America.
Cliffs sees continued economic growth in the U.S. to support domestic steel production and demand for steelmaking raw materials. Steel demand in the U.S. is expected to be backed by strength in the automotive sector and a recovering housing market.
Cliffs is boosting its mining and transportation capacity globally. It has also employed a global exploration program, which is aimed at identifying and capturing new world-class projects.
Let’s have a quick look at this Ohio-based company’s second-quarter 2016 release.
Estimate Trend & Surprise History
Investors should note that the earnings estimate for Cliffs for the second quarter has stable over the past month. Cliffs has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in 3 of the trailing 4 quarters with an average beat of around 19%.
Earnings
Cliffs’ adjusted earnings for the quarter were 6 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 2 cents.
Revenues
Cliffs reported revenues of $496.2 million. That surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $437 million.
Key Stats/Developments to Note
For 2016, Cliffs reiterated its selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses at $100 million. Cliffs expects 2016 capital expenditures to be $75 million including roughly $25 million required to produce a specialized, super-flux pellet called Mustang at United Taconite to meet a customer's pellet specification needs.
Zacks Rank
Currently, Cliffs has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), but that could change following its earnings report which was just released.
Market Reaction
Cliffs’ shares were up around 4.5% in the pre-market trading. It would be interesting to see how the market reacts to the results during the trading session today.
Check back later for our full write up on Cliffs’ earnings report!
CLIFFS NATURAL (CLF): Free Stock Analysis Report
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