CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Shares Up 3.5% – Here’s Why

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)’s share price rose 3.5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $88.95 and last traded at $88.75. Approximately 524,670 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 2,066,833 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lowered CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of CF Industries from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of CF Industries from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on CF Industries from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.42.

CF Industries Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $84.14 and a 200 day moving average of $78.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The stock has a market cap of $15.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.97.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 19.45%. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is currently 31.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 29,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,629,574.22. This represents a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,964,120. This trade represents a 2.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 401.2% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,639,079 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $269,729,000 after acquiring an additional 2,912,942 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in CF Industries by 37.5% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,063,854 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $254,920,000 after purchasing an additional 835,557 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 7,617.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 437,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $375,440,000 after purchasing an additional 431,910 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 68.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 737,352 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,263,000 after buying an additional 300,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 3.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,286,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $711,003,000 after buying an additional 300,050 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About CF Industries

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.