CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Freedom Broker Analyst Says

Key Points

• Freedom Broker raised its price target on CF Industries from $129 to $133, while maintaining a “hold” rating; the new target implies 8.39% upside from the then-current share price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly “hold”: MarketBeat reported an average target of $123.35, with 12 analysts rating the stock Hold, seven Buy or Strong Buy, and three Sell.
• CF Industries’ latest quarter delivered revenue of $1.86 billion, up 12.1% year over year and above estimates, but EPS of $2.87 fell short of the $3.00 consensus.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by equities research analysts at Freedom Broker from $129.00 to $133.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "hold" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Freedom Broker's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 8.39% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on CF. Weiss Ratings upgraded CF Industries from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. KeyCorp began coverage on CF Industries in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on CF Industries from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded CF Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on CF Industries from $123.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.35.

CF Industries Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of CF stock traded up $0.34 on Wednesday, hitting $122.70. 639,773 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,166,572. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.98. CF Industries has a twelve month low of $75.42 and a twelve month high of $141.96. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $122.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66, a PEG ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.54.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00 by ($0.13). CF Industries had a return on equity of 24.52% and a net margin of 27.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.19 earnings per share. CF Industries's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that CF Industries will post 13.59 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the second quarter worth approximately $1,410,607,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,458,907 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $579,062,000 after purchasing an additional 146,682 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,048,671 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $265,999,000 after purchasing an additional 158,119 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $198,857,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 1.9% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,747,078 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $189,139,000 after purchasing an additional 32,293 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

About CF Industries

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. is a producer and distributor of nitrogen fertilizer and related products. Its main offerings include ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) and ammonium nitrate, which are used primarily to support crop production. The company also supplies nitrogen products for industrial applications, including emissions control and chemical manufacturing. Founded in 1946 as the Central Farmers Fertilizer Company, CF Industries grew from a cooperative serving agricultural retailers into a major nitrogen producer.

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