CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $92.07.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on CF Industries from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank upgraded CF Industries from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $81.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $105.00 target price on CF Industries and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th.

CF Industries Stock Up 0.6%

CF traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $95.19. 2,408,144 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,236,912. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.59. The company's fifty day moving average price is $90.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.83. The company has a market cap of $16.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 0.96. CF Industries has a one year low of $67.34 and a one year high of $104.45.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 17.39% and a net margin of 21.80%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to reacquire up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. CF Industries's payout ratio is 26.35%.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total transaction of $1,002,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,812,522.29. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of CF Industries by 119.8% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of CF Industries by 114.1% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 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.