FY2025 EPS Estimates for CF Industries Lifted by Scotiabank

Key Points

• Scotiabank has raised its FY2025 earnings per share estimate for CF Industries from $6.98 to $8.87, with a price target of $82.00 and a "Sector Perform" rating.
• CF Industries reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.37, surpassing expectations, with revenues reaching $1.89 billion, a 20.2% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a $2 billion share buyback program and a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, reflecting confidence in its share value.

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Scotiabank upped their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for CF Industries in a report issued on Monday, August 11th. Scotiabank analyst B. Isaacson now anticipates that the basic materials company will post earnings of $8.87 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $6.98. Scotiabank has a "Sector Perform" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for CF Industries' current full-year earnings is $5.83 per share. Scotiabank also issued estimates for CF Industries' FY2026 earnings at $8.27 EPS.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.02. CF Industries had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 20.19%. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on CF Industries from $108.00 to $101.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on CF Industries and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price target on CF Industries and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Oppenheimer cut CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on CF Industries from $103.00 to $101.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CF Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.00.

CF Industries Stock Performance

NYSE CF traded down $1.97 on Thursday, reaching $84.46. The stock had a trading volume of 208,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,765,378. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a current ratio of 3.22. CF Industries has a 12-month low of $67.34 and a 12-month high of $104.45. The business's 50-day moving average price is $93.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.30. The stock has a market cap of $13.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.94.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,040,601 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,644,323,000 after acquiring an additional 319,343 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in CF Industries by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,982,072 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $734,351,000 after acquiring an additional 165,833 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in CF Industries by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,055,283 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $473,220,000 after acquiring an additional 262,944 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in CF Industries by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,708,643 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $446,130,000 after acquiring an additional 240,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in CF Industries by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,425,518 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $377,585,000 after acquiring an additional 150,461 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 87,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,812,522.29. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

CF Industries announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.11%.

CF Industries Company Profile

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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