As if shareholders need any reminder, the past 12 months have been downright brutal for Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE:CLF):

Although the steep decline in CLF stock has been somewhat warranted due to the collapse of iron ore prices as well as strategic missteps by past management, I believe that the company has taken many positive steps that have yet to be reflected in the stock price:

Focus on Debt Reduction

One of most glaring hurdles that CLF has to overcome is its tremendous debt burden, which stood at $2,984 million as of year end 2014. Although this certainly is a daunting number, CLF is acknowledging the harsh reality, and is taking steps to address the issue head on.

During the end of the fourth quarter in 2014 and the beginning of the first quarter in 2015, CLF reduced their total debt by $400 million. They accomplished this by using the cash from their sale of Logan County Coal ($174 million) and cash flow from operations to buy back their own bonds at a 34% discount to…

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