The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Price Target to $94.00

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group has lowered its price target for CF Industries from $96.00 to $94.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating on the stock, which suggests a potential upside of 8.36% from its current price.
• Other brokerages have also adjusted their ratings, with HSBC reducing their target to $95.00 and BNP Paribas moving from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating.
• CF Industries reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.37, exceeding expectations and showing a revenue increase of 20.2% year-over-year.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $96.00 to $94.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the basic materials company's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.36% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CF. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $104.00 to $95.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 15th. BNP Paribas cut shares of CF Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $82.00 price objective (up from $81.00) on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.54.

CF Industries Price Performance

CF stock opened at $86.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $86.66 and a 200-day moving average of $87.27. CF Industries has a 12-month low of $67.34 and a 12-month high of $104.45. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $14.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 0.93.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.02. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.19% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kathmere Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $233,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 224.8% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 128,792 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $11,553,000 after acquiring an additional 89,145 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 13,506 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,211,000 after acquiring an additional 2,454 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 13,270 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,190,000 after buying an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in CF Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

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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