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

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on CF Industries, with 11 hold, five buy, two strong-buy and three sell ratings. The average 12-month price target is $116.56.
• CF Industries’ latest quarterly results missed expectations, reporting $4.73 in EPS versus $5.63 expected and revenue of $2.22 billion versus $2.45 billion forecast, despite 17.6% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.60 per share, equating to a $2.40 annualized payout and a 1.8% yield; institutional investors own 93.06% of the stock.

Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $116.5625.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their target price on CF Industries from $103.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Freedom Capital raised CF Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on CF Industries from $94.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of CF Industries from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

CF Industries Stock Down 2.9%

CF stock opened at $133.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.27. The company has a quick ratio of 4.32, a current ratio of 4.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. CF Industries has a 52 week low of $75.42 and a 52 week high of $141.96.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.73 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.37 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that CF Industries will post 13.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from CF Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $11,556,000. S&CO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,630,000. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CF Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,108,000. Twin Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $714,000. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. purchased a new position in CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $960,000. 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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