CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of CF Industries (NYSE:CF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Sunday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of CF Industries from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $75.00 to $92.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of CF Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on CF Industries in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HSBC cut their target price on CF Industries from $104.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.64.

CF Industries Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $81.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.80. CF Industries has a 12-month low of $67.34 and a 12-month high of $104.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.89.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 20.19%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that CF Industries will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 24.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new position in CF Industries in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 78.0% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 292 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in CF Industries in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in CF Industries by 114.1% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in CF Industries by 396.2% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in 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.