Financial Survey: CF Industries (NYSE:CF) and Phosphate (OTCMKTS:PHOS)

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) and Phosphate (OTCMKTS:PHOS) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares CF Industries and Phosphate’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CF Industries	20.19%	17.10%	9.58%
Phosphate	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares CF Industries and Phosphate”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CF Industries	$5.94 billion	2.26	$1.22 billion	$7.66	10.81
Phosphate	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

CF Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Phosphate.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for CF Industries and Phosphate, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CF Industries	0	12	2	1	2.27
Phosphate	0	0	0	0	0.00

CF Industries currently has a consensus price target of $94.7692, indicating a potential upside of 14.41%. Given CF Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe CF Industries is more favorable than Phosphate.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

93.1% of CF Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of CF Industries shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

CF Industries beats Phosphate on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company's principal products include anhydrous ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate, and ammonium nitrate products. It also offers diesel exhaust fluid, urea liquor, nitric acid, and aqua ammonia products. The company primarily serves cooperatives, independent fertilizer distributors, traders, wholesalers, and industrial users. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois.

About Phosphate

Phosphate Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiary, Mississippi Phosphates Corporation, engages in the production and sale of phosphate fertilizer in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The company also exports its products. Phosphate Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is based in Madison, Mississippi.