UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS Group has reduced its price target for CF Industries from $103.00 to $101.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating, which implies a potential upside of 20.53% from the stock's previous close.
• Shares of CF Industries experienced a 6.8% decline in trading, falling to $83.79 with a trading volume significantly higher than average.
• The company's board has initiated a $2.00 billion stock buyback plan, indicating that its leadership believes the stock is currently undervalued.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $103.00 to $101.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the basic materials company's stock. UBS Group's price target would suggest a potential upside of 20.53% from the stock's previous close.

CF has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on CF Industries from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. BNP Paribas raised shares of CF Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 target price on shares of CF Industries and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.57.

CF Industries Trading Down 6.8%

Shares of CF traded down $6.11 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $83.79. The company had a trading volume of 5,426,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,731,029. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $14.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.94. CF Industries has a 52-week low of $67.34 and a 52-week high of $104.45. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $94.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.65.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.02. CF Industries had a return on equity of 17.39% and a net margin of 21.80%. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. The business's revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total transaction of $1,002,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 87,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,812,522.29. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in CF Industries by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,068 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 125.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 60,914 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,198,000 after purchasing an additional 33,918 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,116,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $14,883,000. Finally, DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $227,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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