CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Upgraded at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of CF Industries (NYSE:CF) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $84.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector underperform” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group reduced their target price on CF Industries from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on CF Industries from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered CF Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.14.

CF Industries Stock Performance

CF opened at $77.74 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.59. The firm has a market cap of $13.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. CF Industries has a fifty-two week low of $69.13 and a fifty-two week high of $98.25.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 20.52%. As a group, equities analysts predict that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 29.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CF Industries news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $844,455.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 15,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,507,745. This represents a 35.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total value of $144,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 92,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,878,656. This trade represents a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,389 shares of company stock worth $1,455,965. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in CF Industries in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in CF Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in CF Industries by 50.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.