CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Stock Price Up 5.3% After Analyst Upgrade

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) shares traded up 5.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $125.00. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. CF Industries traded as high as $139.45 and last traded at $137.9810. 1,031,443 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 4,121,893 shares. The stock had previously closed at $130.98.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on CF. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on CF Industries from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $72.00 price target on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of CF Industries from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.60.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In related news, VP Erik M. Mayer sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total value of $187,035.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $790,659.29. This represents a 19.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.00, for a total transaction of $756,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,753,472. The trade was a 7.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 82,408 shares of company stock worth $9,971,298 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,982,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $734,351,000 after purchasing an additional 165,833 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,013,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $449,742,000 after purchasing an additional 480,126 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $333,501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,516 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,587,999 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $321,852,000 after purchasing an additional 476,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,570,249 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $276,123,000 after purchasing an additional 381,716 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CF Industries Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $20.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.78. The company has a current ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.06. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The company had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 declared 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 dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.22%.

About CF Industries

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.