CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from eighteen brokerages, with one sell recommendation, fourteen holds, and three buys.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share of $2.37, exceeding analyst expectations, alongside a revenue of $1.89 billion, up 20.2% year-over-year.
• CF Industries announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.3% and a payout ratio of 26.11%.

Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $95.2143.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CF shares. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on shares of CF Industries and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of CF Industries from $108.00 to $101.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CF Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of CF Industries from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $75.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CF. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in CF Industries by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,356 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,122,000 after buying an additional 2,572 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in CF Industries by 119.8% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in CF Industries by 1,497.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 109,240 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,537,000 after buying an additional 102,401 shares during the period. Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in CF Industries by 77.0% during the 1st quarter. Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 584,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $45,640,000 after acquiring an additional 254,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in CF Industries by 62.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 720 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Price Performance

CF Industries stock opened at $86.75 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $14.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 0.93. The firm's fifty day moving average is $86.68 and its 200 day moving average is $87.08. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. CF Industries has a 52-week low of $67.34 and a 52-week high of $104.45.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.19% and a return on equity of 17.10%. CF Industries's revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.