CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Downgraded to “Underperform” at Bank of America

Bank of America lowered shares of CF Industries (NYSE:CF) from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $83.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of CF Industries from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on CF Industries from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on CF Industries from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.64.

CF Industries Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of CF opened at $84.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 4.19, a current ratio of 4.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $82.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.28. CF Industries has a fifty-two week low of $69.13 and a fifty-two week high of $90.86.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 12.96% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.70 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that CF Industries will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $2,629,574.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total value of $648,234.02. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 29,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,629,574.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,964,120. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CF. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 132.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 40.4% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 664 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in CF Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 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.