CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Scotiabank Analyst Says

Key Points

• Scotiabank raised its price target on CF Industries from $115 to $120, implying a modest upside from the stock’s previous close.
• Despite the increase, the broader analyst view remains cautious: CF has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.27 across Wall Street coverage.
• CF Industries recently reported strong quarterly earnings, with EPS of $3.98 beating estimates and revenue of $1.99 billion topping forecasts, while revenue rose 19.4% year over year.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by research analysts at Scotiabank from $115.00 to $120.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. Scotiabank's target price suggests a potential upside of 2.99% from the company's previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $72.00 target price on CF Industries in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group dropped their target price on CF Industries from $140.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday. Mizuho boosted their price objective on CF Industries from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $132.00 to $133.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $118.27.

CF Industries Stock Up 1.3%

CF Industries stock opened at $116.52 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.46. CF Industries has a 1-year low of $75.42 and a 1-year high of $141.96. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $1.35. CF Industries had a net margin of 23.73% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. CF Industries's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that CF Industries will post 13.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Richard A. Hoker sold 3,499 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.38, for a total transaction of $438,704.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 31,036 shares in the company, valued at $3,891,293.68. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Patrick Mcgrane sold 3,666 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.50, for a total value of $427,089.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 82,408 shares of company stock valued at $9,971,298. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in CF Industries by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 232,647 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $20,868,000 after buying an additional 23,942 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 878.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 17,941 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,609,000 after acquiring an additional 16,107 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 369,321 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,128,000 after buying an additional 61,140 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CF Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $677,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,170,171 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $90,501,000 after buying an additional 248,020 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by 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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