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

Key Points

• CF Industries has a consensus “Hold” rating from 20 analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $116.56—below the stock’s reported $121.49 opening price.
• The company’s latest quarter fell short of expectations, reporting $4.73 in EPS versus $5.63 expected and $2.22 billion in revenue versus $2.45 billion estimated, although revenue increased 17.6% year over year.
• CF Industries raised its quarterly dividend to $0.60 per share, or $2.40 annually, representing a 2.0% yield; institutional investors own approximately 93.06% of the stock.

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twenty research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $116.5625.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CF shares. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on CF Industries from $86.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of CF Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CF Industries from $94.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd.

CF Industries Price Performance

CF stock opened at $121.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 4.86 and a quick ratio of 4.32. The company's 50-day moving average is $114.38 and its 200-day moving average is $114.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.66 billion, a PE ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 0.39. CF Industries has a 1 year low of $75.42 and a 1 year high of $141.96.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.63 by ($0.90). CF Industries had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 24.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.37 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that CF Industries will post 15.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from CF Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new position in CF Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,120,000. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CF Industries during the second quarter worth about $9,146,000. Csenge Advisory Group bought a new stake in CF Industries in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,002,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in CF Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $535,000. Finally, Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $431,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CF Industries

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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