Zacks Research Downgrades CF Industries (NYSE:CF) to Hold

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on CF Industries from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Freedom Capital raised CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on CF Industries from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on CF Industries from $140.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on CF Industries from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.75.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF Industries stock opened at $105.67 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $16.23 billion, a PE ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 0.38. CF Industries has a 52 week low of $75.42 and a 52 week high of $141.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $119.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.23. The company has a quick ratio of 3.15, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $1.35. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that CF Industries will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in CF Industries by 878.2% during 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 grew its holdings in CF Industries by 19.8% during 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 grew its holdings in CF Industries by 26.9% during 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. AIA Group Ltd bought a new position in CF Industries during the third quarter valued at $376,000. Finally, BDF Gestion bought a new position in CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $1,779,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.