Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (CLF): A Once-in-a-Decade Opportunity?

One of Cliffs largest customers, ArcelorMittal (ADR) (NYSE:MT) also trades at a rare discount to tangible book value. The company is one of the world’s largest steel companies sporting a market capitalization of $20 billion, which is not bad considering the shareholder equity shown on its most recent 10-Q report was $50 Billion. ArcelorMittal (ADR) (NYSE:MT) is a top notch organization, and its hard to imagine its stock doing anything but well in the long term as global growth resumes. However when compared to Cliffs Natural Resources it seems to be a riskier bet, given the fact that Cliffs remains solidly profitable while ArcelorMittal (ADR) (NYSE:MT) lost $3.7 Billion last year and is expected to only break even this year.

A similar, but far more risky, situation exists with AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE:AKS). Its most recent balance sheet shows $3.9 Billion in assets supporting a whopping $4.4 billion in liabilities, yielding a negative book value of over $500 million. AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE:AKS) lost $10 Million in the first quarter of 2013 following a loss of $128 Million from operations last year (the company showed a much larger loss on a GAAP basis due to a tax provision.) Should the steel industry turn around soon, AK Steel will likely be a big winner. This is especially true when taking into account the fact that the company has no significant debt maturities coming up in the next few years. When compared to the likes of Cliffs Natural Resources, however, AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE:AKS) seems unnecessarily risky.

Conclusion

While iron ore prices are wildly unpredictable thanks in part to its dependence on continued growth across Asia, it is clear that Cliffs Natural Resources is worth further analysis by Foolish investors. The company trades at a rare 50% discount to book value, is still profitable, and has no significant debt maturities in the near future. For those that hold a belief that the steel industry is due for a turnaround Cliffs is clearly the best way to play it. Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE:CLF) is not without risks and a significant slowdown in Asia, China in particular, could lead a further decline in the spot price of iron. Despite the negatives and obvious volatility, Cliffs is at least worth a look to Foolish investors looking to make a bet on a turnaround in global steel production as the global economy continues to recover.

The article Cliffs Natural Resources: A Once-in-a-Decade Opportunity? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Sean O’Reilly.

Sean O’Reilly has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of ArcelorMittal. Sean is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.

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