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

Stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of CF Industries (NYSE:CF) in a research note issued to investors 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 objective indicates a potential upside of 12.35% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays cut 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of CF Industries from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of CF Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.86.

CF Industries Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of CF stock opened at $76.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $12.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.99. CF Industries has a 52 week low of $69.13 and a 52 week high of $98.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.33.

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

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In related news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $844,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 15,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,507,745. This trade represents a 35.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total transaction of $144,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 92,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,878,656. This trade represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,889 shares of company stock valued at $1,130,955 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new position in CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $486,000. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $296,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new position in CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $397,000. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new position in CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $417,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $15,832,000. 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.