Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF – Get Free Report) and Acerinox (OTCMKTS:ANIOY – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.
Profitability
This table compares Cleveland-Cliffs and Acerinox’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Cleveland-Cliffs | -9.03% | -17.97% | -6.03% |
| Acerinox | 1.59% | 3.54% | 1.41% |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Cleveland-Cliffs and Acerinox”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Cleveland-Cliffs | $19.19 billion | 0.29 | -$754.00 million | ($3.41) | -3.34 |
| Acerinox | $5.86 billion | 0.52 | $243.41 million | $0.19 | 32.29 |
Acerinox has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Cleveland-Cliffs. Cleveland-Cliffs is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Acerinox, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
67.7% of Cleveland-Cliffs shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Cleveland-Cliffs shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Cleveland-Cliffs and Acerinox, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Cleveland-Cliffs | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2.25 |
| Acerinox | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.75 |
Cleveland-Cliffs currently has a consensus target price of $10.96, suggesting a potential downside of 3.84%. Given Cleveland-Cliffs’ higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Cleveland-Cliffs is more favorable than Acerinox.
Risk & Volatility
Cleveland-Cliffs has a beta of 1.93, meaning that its stock price is 93% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acerinox has a beta of 1.2, meaning that its stock price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Acerinox beats Cleveland-Cliffs on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Cleveland-Cliffs
Cleveland-Cliffs is the largest flat-rolled steel company and the largest iron ore pellet producer in North America. The company is vertically integrated from mining through iron making, steelmaking, rolling, finishing and downstream with hot and cold stamping of steel parts and components. The company was formerly known as Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. and changed its name to Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. in August 2017. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.
About Acerinox
Acerinox, S.A., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, process, and markets stainless steel products in Spain, the United States, Africa, Asia, Rest of Europe, and internationally. It operates through Stainless steel, and High-performance Alloys segments. The company offers flat products, including hot and cold rolled coils and sheets, strips, flat bars, and discs, as well as engraved coil and sheet, black coil, slabs, circles, billets, and plates. It provides long products, which include wire and hexagonal wire rods, peeled bars, hot and cold reinforcement bars, black bars, profiles, angles, and steel profiles, as well as stainless steel, color coated, and reinforcement wires. In additions, it offers stainless steel products, such as austenitic, ferritic, duplex, and martensitic. Acerinox, S.A. was incorporated in 1970 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain.
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