The Goldman Sachs Group Initiates Coverage on CF Industries (NYSE:CF)

Investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of CF Industries (NYSE:CF) in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $86.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 12.35% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on CF. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of CF Industries from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of CF Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.86.

CF Industries Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE CF opened at $76.55 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.33. CF Industries has a 52-week low of $69.13 and a 52-week high of $98.25. The firm has a market cap of $12.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Equities analysts predict that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $844,455.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,507,745. The trade was a 35.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $142,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 93,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,928,670. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,889 shares of company stock valued at $1,130,955. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $74,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,149,000. National Pension Service increased its stake in CF Industries by 2,848.4% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 290,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,776,000 after buying an additional 280,535 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in CF Industries by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,792,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $494,202,000 after buying an additional 225,109 shares during the period. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $887,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.