Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF – Get Free Report) and Triple Flag Precious Metals (NYSE:TFPM – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.
Dividends
Cleveland-Cliffs pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Triple Flag Precious Metals pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Cleveland-Cliffs pays out -28.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Triple Flag Precious Metals pays out 12.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Triple Flag Precious Metals has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Cleveland-Cliffs is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
67.7% of Cleveland-Cliffs shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.9% of Triple Flag Precious Metals shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Cleveland-Cliffs shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Cleveland-Cliffs and Triple Flag Precious Metals, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Cleveland-Cliffs | 2 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2.08 |
| Triple Flag Precious Metals | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2.56 |
Cleveland-Cliffs presently has a consensus price target of $14.30, indicating a potential upside of 11.31%. Triple Flag Precious Metals has a consensus price target of $39.25, indicating a potential upside of 22.18%. Given Triple Flag Precious Metals’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Triple Flag Precious Metals is more favorable than Cleveland-Cliffs.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Cleveland-Cliffs and Triple Flag Precious Metals”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Cleveland-Cliffs | $20.07 billion | 0.37 | -$1.48 billion | ($0.85) | -15.11 |
| Triple Flag Precious Metals | $388.70 million | 17.00 | $240.01 million | $2.00 | 16.06 |
Triple Flag Precious Metals has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Cleveland-Cliffs. Cleveland-Cliffs is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Triple Flag Precious Metals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk & Volatility
Cleveland-Cliffs has a beta of 1.99, meaning that its share price is 99% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Triple Flag Precious Metals has a beta of -0.09, meaning that its share price is 109% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Cleveland-Cliffs and Triple Flag Precious Metals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Cleveland-Cliffs | -2.36% | -6.83% | -2.05% |
| Triple Flag Precious Metals | 82.56% | 13.56% | 12.81% |
Summary
Triple Flag Precious Metals beats Cleveland-Cliffs on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Cleveland-Cliffs
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. is a vertically integrated steel and iron ore company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. Its operations span iron ore mining and pellet production, direct-reduced iron and coke production, and steelmaking and finishing. The company makes flat-rolled steel products, including hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated steel, as well as plate and other specialty products. Its customers serve industries such as automotive, infrastructure, manufacturing and appliances. Founded in 1847 as an iron ore mining company, Cleveland-Cliffs expanded into steelmaking and has built an integrated production network across the United States and Canada.
About Triple Flag Precious Metals
Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp. is a precious metals streaming and royalty company. It provides mining companies with upfront financing in exchange for the right to purchase a portion of future metal production or receive royalty payments tied to production or revenue. The company’s portfolio is focused on gold and silver, with exposure to other metals through some assets. Triple Flag holds interests in mines and development projects across several regions, including the Americas, Australia and Africa.
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