UPDATE: Goldman Sachs Reiterates Neutral Rating, Lowers PT on Cliffs Natural Resources

In a report published Monday, Goldman Sachs Group reiterated its Neutral rating on Cliffs Natural Resources CLF, but lowered its price target from $42.00 to $37.00. Goldman Sachs noted, “We lower our 4Q12 and long-term iron ore price forecasts in line with our global mining team. We continue to believe iron ore prices will recover from current depressed levels as destocking at Chinese steel mills ends, and steel production continues to grow over coming years, keeping the iron ore market in modest tightness. However, we see a lower deficit in the iron ore markets and thus reduce our future iron ore price estimates by about 7%. We expect the iron ore market to enter a consistent surplus sometime in late 2013, with prices gradually falling to a cost support level of $85 per tonne beyond 2014. We lower our EPS estimates by 13% on average and our 6-month P/E-, EV/EBITDA-, and DCF-based target to $37 from $42.” Cliffs Natural Resources closed on Friday at $40.50.