CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Rothschild & Co Redburn

Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of CF Industries (NYSE:CF) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wolfe Research upgraded CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Mizuho cut their target price on CF Industries from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded CF Industries to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $83.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.14.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF stock opened at $92.86 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $83.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.98. The stock has a market cap of $14.48 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. CF Industries has a 12 month low of $67.34 and a 12 month high of $104.45.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.13. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.47% and a return on equity of 18.14%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. CF Industries’s revenue was up 21.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in CF Industries in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 396.2% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 451.3% in the third quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Company Profile

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.