CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.90 EPS

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.63 by ($0.90), FiscalAI reports. CF Industries had a return on equity of 20.93% and a net margin of 23.73%.The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.37 earnings per share. CF Industries’s revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis.

CF Industries Stock Down 1.9%

CF opened at $115.88 on Thursday. CF Industries has a fifty-two week low of $75.42 and a fifty-two week high of $141.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $114.16 and a 200-day moving average of $113.39. 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 company has a market capitalization of $17.80 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 0.39.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This is an increase from CF Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. CF Industries’s payout ratio is currently 21.56%.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fieldview Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,622 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Index Technologies Group LLC bought a new position in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth $217,000. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its position in CF Industries by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in CF Industries by 72.2% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CF. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on CF Industries from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. HSBC cut their price objective on CF Industries from $130.00 to $121.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.69.

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.