CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of CF Industries (NYSE:CF) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

CF has been the subject of a number of other reports. HSBC decreased their price objective on CF Industries from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Mizuho decreased their target price on CF Industries from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $78.00 to $86.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of CF Industries from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.75.

CF Industries Price Performance

CF Industries stock opened at $85.07 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $13.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 0.69. CF Industries has a 12-month low of $67.34 and a 12-month high of $104.45.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.13. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.47% and a return on equity of 18.14%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 21.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CF Industries will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in CF Industries by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 129,588 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,022,000 after acquiring an additional 2,420 shares in the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. increased its holdings in CF Industries by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 2,720 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,779,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 13,658 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries during the third quarter worth about $376,000. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

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.