CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $77.80, but opened at $80.60. CF Industries shares last traded at $80.08, with a volume of 531,258 shares traded.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on CF shares. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 price objective (down from $96.00) on shares of CF Industries in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler lowered CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on CF Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $99.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of CF Industries in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on CF Industries from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.47.

CF Industries Trading Down 0.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $14.92 billion, a PE ratio of 10.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.74. The company has a quick ratio of 3.44, a current ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 18.44% and a net margin of 23.00%. The company’s revenue was down 39.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.35 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In related news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $510,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,442,550. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

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

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.