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

Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $116.5625.

CF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on CF Industries from $103.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on CF Industries from $86.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Scotiabank increased their price target on CF Industries from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, HSBC lowered their price target on CF Industries from $130.00 to $121.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 17th.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in CF Industries during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in CF Industries in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in CF Industries by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CF Industries Price Performance

NYSE CF opened at $118.32 on Tuesday. CF Industries has a 52 week low of $75.42 and a 52 week high of $141.96. The company has a current ratio of 4.86, a quick ratio of 4.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $17.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $114.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.63.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.63 by ($0.90). The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 24.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.37 EPS. Analysts forecast that CF Industries will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from CF Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 14.83%.

CF Industries Company Profile

CF Industries Holdings, Inc is a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products for agricultural and industrial customers. The company specializes in the production of ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), nitric acid and ammonium nitrate, which serve as key inputs for fertilizer blends, industrial chemicals and other downstream applications.

Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, CF Industries operates production facilities and distribution terminals across North America and the United Kingdom.