CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $127.98, but opened at $134.75. CF Industries shares last traded at $135.0920, with a volume of 475,172 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CF. Scotiabank raised their price target on CF Industries from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on CF Industries from $95.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Mizuho increased their target price on CF Industries from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of CF Industries from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.93.

CF Industries Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $19.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 3.37 and a quick ratio of 2.93.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.06. CF Industries had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 20.54%.The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 18,041 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.06, for a total transaction of $2,454,658.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,586,977.72. The trade was a 24.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total transaction of $1,190,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 87,256 shares in the company, valued at $10,384,336.56. The trade was a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 82,408 shares of company stock worth $9,971,298. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $193,657,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in CF Industries by 37.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,312,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $333,501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,516 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CF Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at $96,560,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec grew its position in CF Industries by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,775,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $159,227,000 after acquiring an additional 610,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in CF Industries by 115.1% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,019,926 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $78,881,000 after acquiring an additional 545,668 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.