CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.50 EPS

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.50, Briefing.com reports. CF Industries had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.

CF Industries Stock Up 0.7 %

CF Industries stock traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $82.39. The stock had a trading volume of 2,303,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,073,560. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $83.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.36. The company has a market capitalization of $14.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 4.70, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. CF Industries has a 12 month low of $69.13 and a 12 month high of $90.86.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,964,120. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total transaction of $648,234.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 29,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,629,574.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of CF Industries 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 in the company, valued at $5,964,120. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on CF shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on CF Industries in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price target 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, five have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.67.

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.