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

Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF – Get Rating) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $106.58.

Several research firms recently commented on CF. Mizuho reduced their price target on CF Industries from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on CF Industries in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Scotiabank downgraded CF Industries from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on CF Industries from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 16th.

CF Industries Stock Performance

NYSE CF opened at $81.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.05. CF Industries has a 1-year low of $79.18 and a 1-year high of $119.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 3.22. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.24.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.13 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 29.91%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.71 EPS. Equities analysts predict that CF Industries will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 15th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC bought a new position in CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth $7,601,000. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in CF Industries by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 671,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $57,202,000 after buying an additional 254,281 shares during the last quarter. Natixis grew its stake in CF Industries by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 156,808 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,360,000 after buying an additional 22,894 shares during the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. grew its stake in CF Industries by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 239,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,424,000 after buying an additional 36,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in CF Industries by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 13,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,151,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. 92.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About CF Industries

(Get Rating)

CF Industries Holdings, Inc engages in the manufacture and distribution of nitrogen fertilizer. The firm owns and operates nitrogen plants and serves agricultural and industrial customers through its distribution system. It operates through following segments: Ammonia, Granular Urea, UAN, AN, and Other.