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

Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong 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 $89.29.

CF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on CF Industries from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of CF Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Oppenheimer lowered CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on CF Industries in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $86.00 price target for the company.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,830,621 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $753,429,000 after purchasing an additional 543,876 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,792,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $494,202,000 after buying an additional 225,109 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,487,821 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $382,901,000 after buying an additional 299,173 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in CF Industries by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,425,518 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $377,585,000 after acquiring an additional 150,461 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in CF Industries by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,316,616 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $283,044,000 after acquiring an additional 216,395 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $75.60 on Wednesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $76.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.78. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.84. CF Industries has a twelve month low of $67.34 and a twelve month high of $98.25.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. Equities research analysts expect that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.54%.

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.

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