CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Rothschild Redb

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) was downgraded by equities researchers at Rothschild Redb from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $91.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of CF Industries from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Monday, December 29th. HSBC cut their target price on CF Industries from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $87.07.

CF Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:CF opened at $94.68 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $14.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.70. CF Industries has a fifty-two week low of $67.34 and a fifty-two week high of $104.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 2.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $82.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.92.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.13. CF Industries had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 20.47%.The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. CF Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 24.4% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 95,289 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,767,000 after buying an additional 18,666 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $677,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 5.9% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 276,542 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,442,000 after buying an additional 15,291 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 347.0% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 507,268 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,502,000 after buying an additional 393,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. grew its holdings in CF Industries by 184.9% during the third quarter. Burney Co. now owns 172,390 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,463,000 after buying an additional 111,883 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

About CF Industries

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.