CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $92.38.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CF. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of CF Industries from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America lowered shares of CF Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $83.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on CF Industries from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on CF Industries in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock.

CF Industries Stock Performance

CF Industries stock traded up $6.70 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $95.46. 3,067,763 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,934,223. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $87.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. CF Industries has a one year low of $69.13 and a one year high of $95.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.98.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.50. CF Industries had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 19.45%. The business had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. CF Industries's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CF Industries will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CF Industries news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total transaction of $264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,077,640. The trade was a 2.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.78, for a total value of $635,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 22,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,016,314.58. The trade was a 23.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,500 shares of company stock worth $1,224,470. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CF. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new stake in CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $374,000. City Center Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. City Center Advisors LLC now owns 5,086 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its position in CF Industries by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 37,731 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,219,000 after buying an additional 980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC acquired a new position in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth $201,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently 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.