Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. CLF is a leading mining and natural resources company. Cliffs is the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America.Cliffs sees continued economic growth in the U.S. to support domestic steel production and demand for steelmaking raw materials. Steel demand in the U.S. is expected to be backed by strength in the automotive sector and a recovering housing market.Cliffs is boosting its mining and transportation capacity globally. It has also employed a global exploration program, which is aimed at identifying and capturing new world-class projects.Let’s have a quick look at this Ohio-based company’s first-quarter 2016 release.Estimate Trend & Surprise HistoryInvestors should note that the earnings estimate for Cliffs for the first quarter has seen an uptrend over the past month. Cliffs has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in 3 of the trailing 4 quarters with an average beat of around 27.66%.EarningsCliffs’ adjusted loss (barring one-time items including extinguishment of debt and impact of discontinued operations) was 7 cents per share for the first quarter, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 29 cents.RevenuesCliffs reported revenues of $305.5 million. That surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $300 million.Key Stats/Developments to NoteFor 2016, Cliffs expects selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses to be about $100 million, of which roughly $30 million is considered non-cash. Cliffs expects 2016 capital expenditures to be $75 million up from its previous expectation of $50 million. The expected increase is driven by the capital spend required to produce a specialized, super-flux pellet at United Taconite in order to meet a customer's pellet specification requirements.Zacks RankCurrently, Cliffs has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), but that could change following its earnings report which was just released.Market ReactionCliffs’ shares were up around 10.2% in the pre-market trading. It would be interesting to see how the market reacts to the results during the trading session today.Check back later for our full write up on Cliffs’ earnings report!Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report CLIFFS NATURAL (CLF): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.