CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $120.13, but opened at $128.02. CF Industries shares last traded at $132.6030, with a volume of 3,237,700 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CF shares. Barclays lifted their price target on CF Industries from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on CF Industries from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of CF Industries from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.87.

CF Industries Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $93.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.95. The firm has a market cap of $21.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.06. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The company had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 7,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value of $799,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 73,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,192,133. This trade represents a 8.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Erik M. Mayer sold 2,200 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.25, for a total value of $255,750.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 7,841 shares in the company, valued at $911,516.25. This represents a 21.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 47,118 shares of company stock valued at $5,280,588. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CF. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 26,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,059,000 after acquiring an additional 5,100 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in CF Industries by 18,480.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $101,000. SG Trading Solutions LLC acquired a new position in CF Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $1,440,000. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in CF Industries by 115.1% in the 4th quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 5,987 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 3,204 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

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.