Wall Street Zen Downgrades CF Industries (NYSE:CF) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded CF Industries from “buy” to “hold,” adding to a mixed analyst picture around the stock.
• Other recent analyst moves were split: Freedom Capital upgraded CF, while Zacks Research downgraded it and UBS and Bank of America adjusted their price targets. MarketBeat says the stock currently carries an average Hold rating with a $116.62 target price.
• CF Industries shares opened at $121.17, above both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, and the company remains well-supported by institutions, which own 93.06% of the stock.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Freedom Capital upgraded CF Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group cut their price objective on CF Industries from $140.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research cut CF Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Bank of America upped their target price on CF Industries from $103.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Scotiabank raised CF Industries from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CF Industries currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.62.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $121.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $114.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.29. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. CF Industries has a 12 month low of $75.42 and a 12 month high of $141.96.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $193,657,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in CF Industries by 37.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,312,225 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $333,501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,516 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in CF Industries in the second quarter worth $96,560,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in CF Industries by 203.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,088,286 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $141,303,000 after purchasing an additional 729,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec raised its holdings in CF Industries by 52.4% in the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,775,106 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $159,227,000 after purchasing an additional 610,259 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by 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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