CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $90.54.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CF shares. Bank of America raised CF Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Barclays cut CF Industries from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $96.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group decreased their target price on CF Industries from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on CF Industries from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of CF opened at $77.92 on Tuesday. CF Industries has a 1 year low of $69.13 and a 1 year high of $98.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 3.08 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The company has a market capitalization of $13.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50-day moving average of $87.13 and a 200-day moving average of $85.60.

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

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the firm’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 value of $844,455.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 15,871 shares in the company, valued at $1,507,745. This trade represents a 35.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $8,878,656. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,889 shares of company stock worth $1,130,955 over the last 90 days. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in CF Industries during the third quarter worth $39,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by 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.