Zacks Research Weighs in on CF Industries FY2026 Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research set CF Industries’ FY2026 EPS estimate at $8.60 and kept a Strong-Buy rating on the stock. That forecast is below the current full-year consensus estimate of $15.02 per share.
• CF Industries recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.98 versus the $2.63 consensus and revenue of $1.99 billion versus $1.84 billion expected. Revenue also rose 19.4% year over year.
• The company continues to draw mixed-but-leaning-positive analyst coverage, with firms like Barclays raising price targets while the broader consensus rating remains Hold. CF also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, or $2.00 annualized.

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research issued their FY2026 earnings estimates for CF Industries in a report released on Tuesday, May 19th. Zacks Research analyst Team expects that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $8.60 for the year. Zacks Research currently has a "Strong-Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for CF Industries' current full-year earnings is $15.02 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for CF Industries' Q2 2027 earnings at $1.76 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $1.39 EPS and Q1 2028 earnings at $2.10 EPS.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $1.35. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 20.93% and a net margin of 23.73%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.85 EPS.

CF has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CF Industries from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of CF Industries from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CF Industries from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of CF Industries from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CF Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $118.47.

CF Industries Stock Performance

CF stock opened at $121.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 3.15 and a current ratio of 3.54. The stock has a market cap of $18.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.22. CF Industries has a 52 week low of $75.42 and a 52 week high of $141.96.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In related news, VP Richard A. Hoker sold 6,184 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.33, for a total transaction of $676,096.72. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 34,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,775,711.55. This trade represents a 15.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total transaction of $1,190,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 87,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,384,336.56. The trade was a 10.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 82,408 shares of company stock worth $9,971,298 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 11.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 232,647 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $20,868,000 after purchasing an additional 23,942 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 878.2% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 17,941 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,609,000 after purchasing an additional 16,107 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 19.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 369,321 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,128,000 after purchasing an additional 61,140 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,170,171 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $90,501,000 after purchasing an additional 248,020 shares during the period. Finally, AIA Group Ltd bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $376,000. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about CF Industries

Here are the key news stories impacting CF Industries this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its earnings forecasts for CF Industries across multiple periods, including Q2 2026, Q3 2026, Q4 2026, FY2027 and FY2028, while maintaining a Strong-Buy rating. Higher profit expectations are typically a bullish signal for fertilizer stocks. CF Industries stock page
• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Capital upgraded CF Industries from Hold to Strong-Buy, adding to the upbeat analyst sentiment around the name. Freedom Capital upgrade reference
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated its Buy rating on CF Industries, reinforcing confidence in the stock’s outlook. Barclays rating note
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent reporting highlighted CF Industries’ earnings call commentary on a tight nitrogen market, which suggests supportive pricing conditions for its core fertilizer business, but no new quantitative guidance was provided in the article. Earnings call highlights

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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