CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• CF Industries' share price fell sharply, opening at $84.20 after UBS Group downgraded its price target from $103.00 to $101.00, while it last traded at $82.18.
• Overall, analysts have mixed opinions, with the consensus rating at "Hold" based on twelve hold ratings, three buy ratings, and a strong buy rating from one analyst.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share with a yield of 2.4%, and initiated a $2 billion share repurchase plan, signaling confidence in its stock value.

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $103.00 to $101.00. The stock had previously closed at $89.90, but opened at $84.20. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. CF Industries shares last traded at $82.18, with a volume of 1,179,141 shares.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on CF. Wolfe Research cut CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on CF Industries from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of CF Industries from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of CF Industries from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total value of $1,002,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 87,923 shares in the company, valued at $8,812,522.29. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at $19,523,000. CSM Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CF Industries by 0.4% during the second quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 83,917 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $7,719,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC grew its position in CF Industries by 515.8% during the 2nd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 21,460 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 17,975 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in CF Industries in the second quarter valued at $2,542,000. Finally, Aviva PLC grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 1,829.4% during the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 129,811 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $11,943,000 after buying an additional 123,083 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CF Industries Trading Down 7.5%

The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 0.94.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.02. CF Industries had a net margin of 21.80% and a return on equity of 17.39%. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. The business's revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.35%.

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

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.

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