Alpha Metallurgical Resources (NYSE:AMR) vs. Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Critical Comparison

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) and Alpha Metallurgical Resources (NYSE:AMR) are both mid-cap materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Cleveland-Cliffs and Alpha Metallurgical Resources’ 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%
Alpha Metallurgical Resources	-2.23%	-2.99%	-2.01%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Cleveland-Cliffs and Alpha Metallurgical Resources, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cleveland-Cliffs	2	7	2	0	2.00
Alpha Metallurgical Resources	2	5	0	0	1.71

Cleveland-Cliffs currently has a consensus price target of $12.06, indicating a potential upside of 3.57%. Alpha Metallurgical Resources has a consensus price target of $176.00, indicating a potential downside of 10.82%. Given Cleveland-Cliffs’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Cleveland-Cliffs is more favorable than Alpha Metallurgical Resources.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

67.7% of Cleveland-Cliffs shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.3% of Alpha Metallurgical Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Cleveland-Cliffs shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.2% of Alpha Metallurgical Resources shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Cleveland-Cliffs and Alpha Metallurgical Resources”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cleveland-Cliffs	$18.61 billion	0.36	-$1.48 billion	($1.62)	-7.19
Alpha Metallurgical Resources	$2.13 billion	1.18	-$61.69 million	($3.58)	-55.13

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

Risk & Volatility

Cleveland-Cliffs has a beta of 2.1, meaning that its stock price is 110% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alpha Metallurgical Resources has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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 Alpha Metallurgical Resources

Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc., a mining company, produces, processes, and sells met and thermal coal in Virginia and West Virginia. The company offers metallurgical coal products. It operates twenty-two active mines and nine coal preparation and load-out facilities. The company was formerly known as Contura Energy, Inc. and changed its name to Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc. in February 2021. Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Bristol, Tennessee.