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

Key Points

• CF Industries has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from fifteen analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $95.00.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.37, beating analysts' expectations of $2.35, with a revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter.
• CF Industries declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, representing an annualized yield of 2.3%, and has initiated a $2.00 billion stock buyback program.

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $95.00.

CF has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on CF Industries and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on CF Industries from $108.00 to $101.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Barclays raised CF Industries from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $82.00 target price (down previously from $93.00) on shares of CF Industries in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded CF Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total transaction of $1,002,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,812,522.29. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CF. MGO One Seven LLC increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 5,383 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 2,516 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 192.5% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,639 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $822,000 after purchasing an additional 6,344 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth $380,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,009 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in CF Industries by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 435,855 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,980,000 after acquiring an additional 157,105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of CF stock traded down $0.91 on Tuesday, reaching $86.40. The company had a trading volume of 590,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,735,130. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $13.99 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $91.01 and a 200-day moving average of $85.00. CF Industries has a 12 month low of $67.34 and a 12 month high of $104.45.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. CF Industries's revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that CF Industries will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.11%.

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.