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

Key Points

• CF Industries has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" from 19 covering analysts, with an average 12-month price target of about $118.47.
• The company reported strong first-quarter earnings, posting $3.98 EPS versus the $2.63 consensus and revenue of $1.99 billion, up 19.4% year over year.
• CF Industries also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, while insider sales and recent stock trading showed mixed sentiment around the stock.

Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $118.4667.

A number of research analysts recently commented on CF shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CF Industries from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of CF Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th.

CF Industries Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $116.30 on Thursday. CF Industries has a 52 week low of $75.42 and a 52 week high of $141.96. The company's 50 day moving average is $124.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.23. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $17.87 billion, a PE ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 0.42.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $1.35. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 23.73% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The company's revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. Equities analysts predict that CF Industries will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.97%.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In related news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total transaction of $1,190,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 87,256 shares in the company, valued at $10,384,336.56. This represents a 10.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Patrick Mcgrane sold 3,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.50, for a total transaction of $427,089.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,232,256.50. This represents a 16.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 79,193 shares of company stock valued at $9,659,443. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CF Industries by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Eley Financial Management Inc boosted its stake in CF Industries by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 13,764 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,787,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its stake in CF Industries by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 8,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CF Industries by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,496 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Lakewood Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in CF Industries by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 12,371 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Company Profile

CF Industries Holdings, Inc is a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products for agricultural and industrial customers. The company specializes in the production of ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), nitric acid and ammonium nitrate, which serve as key inputs for fertilizer blends, industrial chemicals and other downstream applications.

Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, CF Industries operates production facilities and distribution terminals across North America and the United Kingdom.

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