CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $118.4667.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of CF Industries from $103.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of CF Industries from $140.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of CF Industries from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th.

CF Industries Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $116.30 on Thursday. CF Industries has a 1-year low of $75.42 and a 1-year high of $141.96. The stock has a market cap of $17.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 3.54 and a quick ratio of 3.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $124.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.23.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $1.35. CF Industries had a net margin of 23.73% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that CF Industries will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, SVP Michael Patrick Mcgrane sold 3,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.50, for a total transaction of $427,089.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,232,256.50. This trade represents a 16.06% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,384,336.56. This trade represents a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 79,193 shares of company stock valued at $9,659,443. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 10.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,013,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $449,742,000 after buying an additional 480,126 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 3.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,458,907 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $579,062,000 after buying an additional 146,682 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 15.3% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,587,999 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $321,852,000 after buying an additional 476,769 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,570,249 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $276,123,000 after buying an additional 381,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 1.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,351,194 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $300,602,000 after buying an additional 63,938 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.