Wells Fargo & Company Cuts CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Price Target to $101.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has reduced its price target for CF Industries from $108.00 to $101.00, still maintaining an "overweight" rating on the stock, which suggests a potential upside of 22.31%.
• CF Industries' stock recently traded up 2.1%, reaching $82.58, with a market capitalization of $14.00 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78.
• The company has announced a $2.00 billion share buyback program, indicating that its board believes the stock is currently undervalued.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $101.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target would indicate a potential upside of 22.31% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on CF. 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. Barclays raised their price target on CF Industries from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wolfe Research downgraded CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price target on CF Industries and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on CF Industries from $103.00 to $101.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.69.

CF Industries Stock Up 2.1%

CF stock traded up $1.67 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $82.58. The company had a trading volume of 384,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,749,547. 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 fifty-two week low of $67.34 and a fifty-two week high of $104.45. The company has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.34.

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total transaction of $1,002,300.00. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CF. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of CF Industries by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,068 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $14,883,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of CF Industries by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 109,693 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,359,000 after purchasing an additional 5,333 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of CF Industries by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 14,162 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,208,000 after purchasing an additional 3,345 shares during the period. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in shares of CF Industries by 53.9% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 161,825 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $13,807,000 after purchasing an additional 56,680 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is currently 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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