CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.45.

CF has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on CF Industries from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on CF Industries from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on CF Industries from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of CF Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th.

CF Industries Trading Down 1.3 %

CF opened at $80.06 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $74.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.67. The firm has a market cap of $14.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.95. CF Industries has a twelve month low of $69.13 and a twelve month high of $87.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 3.55 and a current ratio of 3.94.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.50. CF Industries had a return on equity of 14.08% and a net margin of 19.03%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that CF Industries will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.22%.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CF. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 401.2% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,639,079 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $269,729,000 after purchasing an additional 2,912,942 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in CF Industries by 37.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,063,854 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $254,920,000 after buying an additional 835,557 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in CF Industries by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,928,039 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $232,779,000 after buying an additional 414,785 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in CF Industries by 7.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,871,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $212,823,000 after buying an additional 198,246 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $193,145,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CF Industries Company Profile

CF Industries Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of hydrogen and nitrogen products for energy, fertilizer, emissions abatement, and other industrial activities in North America, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Ammonia, Granular Urea, UAN, AN, and Other segments.