CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Downgraded to “Sector Perform” Rating by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of CF Industries (NYSE:CF) from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $100.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock.

CF has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on CF Industries from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on CF Industries in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $77.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America downgraded CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho raised their price objective on CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on CF Industries in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.69.

CF Industries Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $93.59 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $88.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.32. The stock has a market cap of $16.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.98. CF Industries has a 52-week low of $69.13 and a 52-week high of $98.25.

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 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that CF Industries will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In other news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 3,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total value of $264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,077,640. This trade represents a 2.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total value of $144,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 92,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,878,656. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,389 shares of company stock valued at $2,355,425 in the last three months. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,132 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 2,101 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in CF Industries by 285.1% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 12,780 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 9,461 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $265,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in CF Industries by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,876 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

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.