CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to Underweight

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of CF Industries (NYSE:CF) from a neutral rating to an underweight rating in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $75.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $82.00.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on CF. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. Barclays downgraded shares of CF Industries from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $96.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America downgraded CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded CF Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.43.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $88.07 on Friday. CF Industries has a fifty-two week low of $69.13 and a fifty-two week high of $98.25. The company’s 50-day moving average is $89.19 and its 200 day moving average is $83.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 2.81. The company has a market capitalization of $15.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.98.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.50. CF Industries had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. CF Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CF Industries will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 3,500 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.86, for a total value of $325,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,828,636.48. This trade represents a 5.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total transaction of $264,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,155 shares in the company, valued at $9,077,640. This represents a 2.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,389 shares of company stock valued at $2,355,425 over the last 90 days. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in CF Industries by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 4.9% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,784 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in CF Industries by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 23,353 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,004,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during 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, 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.