Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF – Get Free Report) and AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU – Get Free Report) are both materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.
Volatility and Risk
Cleveland-Cliffs has a beta of 2.09, indicating that its stock price is 109% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AngloGold Ashanti has a beta of 0.73, indicating that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
67.7% of Cleveland-Cliffs shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.1% of AngloGold Ashanti shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Cleveland-Cliffs shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Earnings and Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Cleveland-Cliffs | $18.61 billion | 0.38 | -$1.48 billion | ($1.62) | -7.75 |
| AngloGold Ashanti | $9.89 billion | 4.52 | $2.64 billion | $7.46 | 11.87 |
AngloGold Ashanti has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Cleveland-Cliffs. Cleveland-Cliffs is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AngloGold Ashanti, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Cleveland-Cliffs and AngloGold Ashanti’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Cleveland-Cliffs | -4.56% | -13.37% | -3.96% |
| AngloGold Ashanti | 32.19% | 38.77% | 25.72% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Cleveland-Cliffs and AngloGold Ashanti, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Cleveland-Cliffs | 2 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2.09 |
| AngloGold Ashanti | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2.89 |
Cleveland-Cliffs currently has a consensus price target of $12.35, suggesting a potential downside of 1.66%. AngloGold Ashanti has a consensus price target of $122.83, suggesting a potential upside of 38.73%. Given AngloGold Ashanti’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe AngloGold Ashanti is more favorable than Cleveland-Cliffs.
Summary
AngloGold Ashanti beats Cleveland-Cliffs on 11 of the 15 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 AngloGold Ashanti
AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as produces silver and sulphuric acid as by-products. Its flagship property is a 100% owned Geita mine located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania. AngloGold Ashanti plc was incorporated in 1944 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.
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