CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Given New $132.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) had its price objective lifted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $103.00 to $132.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

CF has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on CF Industries from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Bank of America boosted their price target on CF Industries from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CF Industries from $95.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their price target on CF Industries from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on CF Industries from $97.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CF Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.20.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $118.94 on Tuesday. CF Industries has a fifty-two week low of $72.09 and a fifty-two week high of $141.96. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a current ratio of 3.37. The firm has a market cap of $18.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.22 and a beta of 0.52.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. CF Industries’s revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that CF Industries will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Richard A. Hoker sold 6,184 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.33, for a total transaction of $676,096.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 34,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,775,711.55. The trade was a 15.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total value of $1,190,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 87,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,384,336.56. This trade represents a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 82,408 shares of company stock valued at $9,971,298. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in CF Industries by 10.6% in 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 period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in CF Industries by 37.6% in 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 period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in CF Industries by 15.3% in 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 period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in CF Industries by 12.0% in 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 period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in CF Industries by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,351,194 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $300,602,000 after purchasing an additional 63,938 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.