Zacks Research Expects Increased Earnings for CF Industries

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) – Analysts at Zacks Research increased their FY2024 EPS estimates for CF Industries in a note issued to investors on Friday, January 17th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $6.36 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $6.31. The consensus estimate for CF Industries’ current full-year earnings is $6.38 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for CF Industries’ Q4 2024 earnings at $1.48 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.32 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.90 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.81 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $5.34 EPS and Q1 2026 earnings at $1.49 EPS.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on CF Industries in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $77.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.38.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $97.01 on Monday. CF Industries has a 12 month low of $69.13 and a 12 month high of $98.25. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $88.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.97. The stock has a market cap of $16.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.98.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total transaction of $144,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 92,486 shares in the company, valued at $8,878,656. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 15,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,507,745. This represents a 35.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,389 shares of company stock valued at $2,355,425 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in CF Industries by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in CF Industries by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 0.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 23,353 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,004,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 6.2% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,399 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. 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.