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

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $90.38.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America cut CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of CF Industries in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted 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, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,964,120. The trade was a 2.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.78, for a total value of $635,460.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,016,314.58. This trade represents a 23.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,701 shares of company stock valued at $2,052,704 in the last ninety days. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in CF Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,149,000. AMG National Trust Bank acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries during the third quarter worth $887,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 118.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,991 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,372,000 after acquiring an additional 8,679 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 271,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,269,000 after acquiring an additional 9,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP grew its position in CF Industries by 104.1% during the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 31,111 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,669,000 after acquiring an additional 15,866 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CF Industries Stock Performance

CF Industries stock opened at $84.43 on Thursday. CF Industries has a 12-month low of $69.13 and a 12-month high of $94.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.87. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $14.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.98.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.50. CF Industries had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 19.45%. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that CF Industries will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.65%.

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.