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

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $87.67.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CF shares. Bank of America lowered CF Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on CF Industries from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of CF Industries from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th.

CF Industries Price Performance

CF stock traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $81.78. 1,385,675 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,073,278. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.36. The company has a market cap of $14.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.95. CF Industries has a one year low of $69.13 and a one year high of $90.86. The company has a current ratio of 4.70, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.50. CF Industries had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.96%. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that CF Industries will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. CF Industries's payout ratio is 35.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $180,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 66,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,964,120. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,964,120. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total value of $648,234.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 29,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,629,574.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CF Industries by 4.5% during the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,236 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in CF Industries by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,089 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in CF Industries by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,869 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 28.1% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 761 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 40.4% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 664 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

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.