CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $121.11 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating on CF Industries, with 12 hold, six buy, two strong-buy and three sell recommendations. The average 12-month price target is $121.11.
• Recent broker actions were mixed: Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas Exane and RBC cut their targets, while Scotiabank raised its target to $130; Rothschild & Co. and Redburn upgraded the stock from Sell to Neutral.
• CF Industries missed quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, though revenue rose 17.6% year over year. The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.60 per share, implying a 2.1% yield.

Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the twenty-three brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $121.11.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of CF Industries from $133.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on shares of CF Industries from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of CF Industries from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $94.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on CF Industries from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th.

Key CF Industries News

Here are the key news stories impacting CF Industries this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co. upgraded CF Industries from Sell to Neutral, reducing the severity of its previous bearish stance. The firm also raised its price target to $110 from $98. Rothschild & Co upgrades CF Industries Holdings to neutral from sell
• Positive Sentiment: Redburn also upgraded CF Industries to Neutral from Sell, citing a brighter fertilizer outlook as crop prices rally. Improving agricultural economics could support farmer demand and fertilizer pricing. CF Industries upgraded at Redburn as crop rally brightens fertilizer outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Wide U.S.–Europe natural-gas price spreads are boosting fertilizer margins. Because natural gas is a major input for nitrogen fertilizer, lower relative U.S. gas costs may provide CF Industries with a competitive cost advantage. Fertilizer Prices Keep Climbing: 3 Stocks Still Trading at a Discount
• Neutral Sentiment: CF Industries was included in several fertilizer-stock watchlists, alongside peers such as CVR Partners and LSB Industries. These articles reinforce investor interest in the sector but do not identify a new company-specific catalyst. Fertilizer Stocks To Watch Now - September 27th
• Negative Sentiment: Although the analyst upgrades improve sentiment, the revised $110 price target is below CF’s recent trading level, limiting the immediate upside implied by the recommendation.

CF Industries Stock Performance

NYSE CF opened at $115.83 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $125.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.32. The company has a market capitalization of $17.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.59, a PEG ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.40. CF Industries has a 1-year low of $75.42 and a 1-year high of $141.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 4.86 and a quick ratio of 4.32.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 24.41% and a net margin of 27.12%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that CF Industries will post 13.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from CF Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.79%.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in CF Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in CF Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 493 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CF Industries

CF Industries Holdings, Inc NYSE: CF is a major global producer of nitrogen fertilizer and other nitrogen-based products. The company manufactures ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), ammonium nitrate and specialty nitrogen products used in agriculture, industrial applications and emissions-control systems.

CF Industries operates a network of production facilities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, serving agricultural and industrial customers in North America and international markets.

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