CF Industries' (CF) "Underperform" Rating Reaffirmed at Bank of America

Key Points

• CF Industries' stock rating was reaffirmed as "underperform" by Bank of America, with a new target price of $82.00, down from $93.00, indicating a potential downside of 5.05%.
• The company reported earnings of $2.37 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and achieving a revenue of $1.89 billion, which is up 20.2% year-over-year.
• CF Industries has authorized a $2.00 billion share buyback program, signaling that the leadership believes the company’s stock is currently undervalued.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "underperform" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Bank of America in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $82.00 price objective on the basic materials company's stock, down from their prior price objective of $93.00. Bank of America's price objective would suggest a potential downside of 2.39% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on CF. Wolfe Research downgraded CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on CF Industries from $108.00 to $101.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on CF Industries and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded CF Industries from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded CF Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.00.

CF Industries Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of CF stock traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $84.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 683,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,768,333. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $92.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.09. CF Industries has a 52 week low of $67.34 and a 52 week high of $104.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a current ratio of 3.22. The company has a market cap of $13.61 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 0.94.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.02. CF Industries had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 20.19%.The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CF Industries will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to buy up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total value of $1,002,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,812,522.29. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CF. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,068 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $14,883,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 11,807 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 2,158 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $272,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 499.2% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 21,194 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,808,000 after buying an additional 17,657 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.