CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Earns Neutral Rating from Bank of America

Bank of America reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of CF Industries (NYSE:CF) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $88.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $96.00.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler lowered shares of CF Industries from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and cut their target price for the company from $87.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of CF Industries from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of CF Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an outperform rating and a $99.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lowered shares of CF Industries from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their target price for the company from $95.00 to $83.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of CF Industries in a report on Friday, February 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $89.20.

CF Industries Stock Performance

NYSE CF opened at $78.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $14.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 3.44, a current ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $81.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.96. CF Industries has a twelve month low of $60.08 and a twelve month high of $87.90.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.12). CF Industries had a return on equity of 18.44% and a net margin of 23.00%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.35 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 39.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CF Industries will post 5.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from CF Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is presently 25.51%.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In other news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $510,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,030 shares in the company, valued at $5,442,550. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CF. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in CF Industries by 0.8% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 76,830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,918,000 after buying an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. purchased a new stake in CF Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $245,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CF Industries in the 1st quarter worth approximately $232,000. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in CF Industries in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,765,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in CF Industries by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,747,358 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,653,523,000 after purchasing an additional 94,482 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

About CF Industries

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.