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

Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $91.79.

Several research firms have commented on CF. Scotiabank raised shares of CF Industries from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $81.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of CF Industries from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. BNP Paribas raised shares of CF Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of CF Industries in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $86.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of CF Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF stock opened at $93.78 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.76. The company has a market cap of $15.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. CF Industries has a 12-month low of $67.34 and a 12-month high of $104.45.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 21.80% and a return on equity of 17.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Analysts expect that CF Industries will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total value of $1,002,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 87,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,812,522.29. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 119.8% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 114.1% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 202 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.