CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Trading 3.5% Higher – Time to Buy?

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)’s share price was up 3.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $88.95 and last traded at $88.75. Approximately 524,670 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 2,066,833 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on CF. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on CF Industries from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on CF Industries from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.42.

CF Industries Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.80.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.50. CF Industries had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 6.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total transaction of $648,234.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 29,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,629,574.22. This represents a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,964,120. The trade was a 2.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CF. Councilmark Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the first quarter worth approximately $1,251,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in CF Industries in the 1st quarter worth approximately $19,824,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in CF Industries by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 50,243 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,724,000 after buying an additional 7,294 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 286.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 34,439 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,866,000 after buying an additional 25,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the second quarter worth $4,710,000. 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.