Cliffs Natural Resources Goes Negative

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Cliffs Natural Resources (NYS: CLF) reported earnings on Feb. 12. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Cliffs Natural Resources missed slightly on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped and GAAP earnings per share dropped to a loss.


Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
 Cliffs Natural Resources logged revenue of $1.54 billion. The 14 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated revenue of $1.56 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 7.6% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.66 billion.

anImage
anImage

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.41. The 21 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.55 per share. GAAP EPS were -$11.36 for Q4 compared to $1.39 per share for the prior-year quarter.

anImage
anImage

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 15.5%, 1,420 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 5.2%, 1,480 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -105.4%, 11,730 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.08 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.33.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $5.43 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.18.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,523 members out of 1,584 rating the stock outperform, and 61 members rating it underperform. Among 342 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 329 give Cliffs Natural Resources a green thumbs-up, and 13 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Cliffs Natural Resources is hold, with an average price target of $42.44.

Steel is for real, but gold is shiny and increaingly popular as a hedge among those who fear inflation. Should you move beyond Cliffs Natural Resources and look into a precious metal play? Find out how Motley Fool Analysts think you can profit from inflation and gold with a little-known company we profile in, "The Tiny Gold Stock Digging Up Massive Profits." Click here for instant access to this free report.

The article Cliffs Natural Resources Goes Negative originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy

Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Advertisement