Wells Fargo & Company Analysts Give CF Industries (NYSE:CF) a $105.00 Price Target

Wells Fargo & Company set a $105.00 target price on CF Industries (NYSE:CF) in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Scotiabank upgraded CF Industries from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on CF Industries from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on CF Industries from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded CF Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.79.

CF Industries Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $91.04 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $88.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. CF Industries has a 12-month low of $67.34 and a 12-month high of $104.45. The firm has a market cap of $15.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 0.97.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.38. CF Industries had a return on equity of 17.39% and a net margin of 21.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is currently 26.35%.

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

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred 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 now directly owns 87,923 shares in the company, valued at $8,812,522.29. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in CF Industries by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 293,389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,928,000 after purchasing an additional 15,538 shares during the last quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 22.8% in the 1st quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 14,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new position in CF Industries during the first quarter worth $1,211,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in CF Industries by 141.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. 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.