Brokerages Set CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Target Price at $90.21

Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $90.21.

CF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on CF Industries from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on CF Industries from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

CF Industries Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:CF traded down $1.42 during trading on Thursday, reaching $93.82. 2,534,905 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,139,881. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $82.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 3.08 and a quick ratio of 2.52. CF Industries has a 12-month low of $67.34 and a 12-month high of $98.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.91 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.97.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.38. CF Industries had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 20.52%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. CF Industries's quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. CF Industries's payout ratio is currently 26.35%.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,040,601 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,644,323,000 after purchasing an additional 319,343 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in CF Industries by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,830,621 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $753,429,000 after acquiring an additional 543,876 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,055,283 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $473,220,000 after acquiring an additional 262,944 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,708,643 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $446,130,000 after acquiring an additional 240,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,487,821 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $382,901,000 after acquiring an additional 299,173 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.