Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.'s CLF stock looks promising at the moment. The company has seen its shares shoot up roughly 37% over the past six months. If you haven’t taken advantage of the share price appreciation yet, the time is right for you to add the stock to portfolio as it looks promising and is poised to carry the momentum ahead.
Let’s take a look into the factors that make this mining company a compelling choice for investors right now.
What Makes CLF an Attractive Pick?
An Outperformer: Cleveland-Cliffs, a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock, has outperformed the industry over a year. The company’s shares have rallied around 42% over this period, compared with roughly 35.2% rise recorded by the industry.
Strong Growth Prospects: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings for second-quarter 2018 for Cleveland-Cliffs is currently pegged at 53 cents, reflecting an expected year-over-year growth of 103.9%. Moreover, earnings are expected to register a staggering 182% growth in 2018.
Positive Earnings Surprise History: Cleveland-Cliffs has an impressive earnings surprise history. The company has outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering a positive average earnings surprise of 49.9%.
Estimates Northbound: Annual estimates for Cleveland-Cliffs have moved north over the past two months, reflecting analysts’ confidence on the stock. Over this period, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 has increased by around 35.6% to $1.41 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 has also moved up 31.6% over the same timeframe to $1.29.
Upbeat Outlook: Cleveland-Cliffs, during the first quarter of 2018, witnessed healthy steel demand in several sectors including construction, machinery and equipment, automotive and energy. It also believes that consumption will be very high this year as business environment remains good.
The company also expects prices to continue remaining high. Cleveland-Cliffs expects strength in the U.S. steel market coupled with its enhanced pellet supply contracts to help it deliver significantly higher EBITDA and cash flow in 2018.
Cleveland-Cliffs also raised its sales volume expectations for 2018 for its U.S. iron ore business factoring in strong demand. The company now sees sales volume to be 20.5 million long tons for the full year, up from roughly 20 million long tons expected earlier.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. Price and Consensus
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. Price and Consensus | Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. Quote
Other Stocks to Consider
Other top-ranked stocks in the basic materials space worth considering include Westlake Chemical Corporation WLK, The Chemours Company CC and Celanese Corporation CE, each carrying a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Westlake Chemical has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 12.2%. Its shares have rallied roughly 85% over a year.
Chemours has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 15.5%. The company’s shares have gained around 21% in a year.
Celanese has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 8.9%. Its shares have rallied roughly 33% over a year.
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