Head to Head Survey: Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) and Trevali Mining (OTCMKTS:TREVF)

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) and Trevali Mining (OTCMKTS:TREVF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

67.7% of Cleveland-Cliffs shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Cleveland-Cliffs shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Cleveland-Cliffs and Trevali Mining’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cleveland-Cliffs	-2.31%	-0.59%	-0.26%
Trevali Mining	-6.08%	-0.96%	-0.41%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Cleveland-Cliffs and Trevali Mining”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cleveland-Cliffs	$19.97 billion	0.26	$399.00 million	($0.97)	-11.03
Trevali Mining	$288.09 million	0.00	$26.02 million	($0.15)	N/A

Cleveland-Cliffs has higher revenue and earnings than Trevali Mining. Cleveland-Cliffs is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Trevali Mining, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Cleveland-Cliffs has a beta of 1.96, meaning that its stock price is 96% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Trevali Mining has a beta of 2.53, meaning that its stock price is 153% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Cleveland-Cliffs and Trevali Mining, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cleveland-Cliffs	1	4	4	1	2.50
Trevali Mining	0	0	0	0	0.00

Cleveland-Cliffs currently has a consensus price target of $16.54, indicating a potential upside of 54.69%. Given Cleveland-Cliffs’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Cleveland-Cliffs is more favorable than Trevali Mining.

Summary

Cleveland-Cliffs beats Trevali Mining on 11 of the 14 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 Trevali Mining

Trevali Mining Corporation, a base-metals mining company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development of, and production from mineral properties. It primarily explores for zinc, lead, silver, copper, and gold deposits. The company's operational assets include the 90%-owned Perkoa Mine in Burkina Faso; 90%-owned Rosh Pinah Mine in Namibia; and Caribou Mine in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It also holds interests in the Halfmile, Stratmat, and Restigouche properties situated in New Brunswick, Canada; Gergarub project in Namibia; and Ruttan Mine located in northern Manitoba, Canada. In addition, the company has an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Heath Steele deposit located in New Brunswick, Canada. Trevali Mining Corporation was formerly known as Trevali Resources Corp. and changed its name to Trevali Mining Corporation in April 2011. The company was incorporated in 1964 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.