Citigroup Reiterates Buy Rating on Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF)

Citigroup is out with a research report this morning, where it reiterates its Buy rating on shares of Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF); it has an $87.00 price target on the stock. The Citigroup analysts said, “Based on CLF’s estimated EBITDA of $100 million in ’11 and $175 in ’12, the deal (with INR Energy) is accretive with the acquisition adding $0.19 (2.3%) to our ’11 estimate and $0.51 (6.3%) to our ’12 estimate. Please see Figure 1 for details. However, investors should keep in mind that the purchase will be funded by cash, revolver, and future free cash flow, which have low offsetting rates of return.”They noted, “Most investors we spoke with today thought CLF paid a full price for INR and the company would have been better served looking elsewhere or buying back stock. While a share repurchase would be more accretive than the proposed transaction in both 2011 and 2012, CLF management has long maintained that their primary objective is to grow the company.”They also said, “Looking at pro forma valuation, CLF remains the cheapest stock across our coverage at roughly 5x 2011 and 2012 EPS, maintaining Buy/High-Risk and $87 target price. We are reserving estimate revisions until the transaction closes.”Learn how to find the best stocks to trade each day in our 70 page E-Book and 90 minute online video for free.