CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Zacks Research lowered shares of CF Industries (NYSE:CF) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on CF Industries from $86.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on CF Industries from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on CF Industries from $140.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on CF Industries from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Two 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.75.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF opened at $105.67 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 3.15 and a current ratio of 3.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $119.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.23 billion, a P/E 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.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $1.35. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 20.93% and a net margin of 23.73%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that CF Industries will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. purchased a new position in CF Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its stake in CF Industries by 36.6% in the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 418 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new position in CF Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in CF Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in CF Industries by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

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.