CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Announces Earnings Results

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. CF Industries had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 20.47%.The company had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion.

CF Industries Trading Up 2.3%

CF stock traded up $2.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.91. 2,757,998 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,309,719. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $85.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.99. CF Industries has a fifty-two week low of $67.34 and a fifty-two week high of $104.45. The company has a market capitalization of $14.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 0.70.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.10%.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 1.7% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 8,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $754,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Trust Company LLC acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $723,000. CI Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 8,193 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $634,000 after buying an additional 6,590 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the third quarter valued at $398,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $343,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on CF shares. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of CF Industries in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on CF Industries from $91.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America decreased their target price on CF Industries from $83.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of CF Industries from $94.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of CF Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.14.

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.