CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $87.67.

CF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on CF Industries from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America cut shares of CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $83.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th.

CF Industries Stock Performance

NYSE CF opened at $84.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $83.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.43. CF Industries has a 1 year low of $69.13 and a 1 year high of $90.86.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.50. CF Industries had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. CF Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CF Industries will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In other news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total value of $648,234.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 29,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,629,574.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total transaction of $648,234.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 29,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,629,574.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $180,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,964,120. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CF. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in CF Industries during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in CF Industries by 132.1% in the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in CF Industries by 40.4% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 664 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in CF Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Company Profile

CF Industries Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of hydrogen and nitrogen products for energy, fertilizer, emissions abatement, and other industrial activities in North America, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Ammonia, Granular Urea, UAN, AN, and Other segments.