BMO Capital Markets Trims CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Target Price to $95.00

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) had its price target decreased by BMO Capital Markets from $100.00 to $95.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

CF has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on CF Industries from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on CF Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set an outperform rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of CF Industries from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Bank of America reissued a neutral rating and set a $88.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised their price target on shares of CF Industries from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CF Industries has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $85.00.

CF Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:CF opened at $73.24 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 3.55 and a current ratio of 3.94. CF Industries has a fifty-two week low of $60.08 and a fifty-two week high of $87.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.11. The company has a market capitalization of $13.39 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.02.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.44). The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 14.08% and a net margin of 19.03%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 26.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.85 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that CF Industries will post 5.86 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, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $510,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,030 shares in the company, valued at $5,442,550. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CF. Norges Bank purchased a new position in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $193,145,000. Boston Partners purchased a new position in CF Industries during the third quarter worth about $160,475,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in CF Industries by 68.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,546,331 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $122,933,000 after purchasing an additional 630,264 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in CF Industries by 98.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 891,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,413,000 after acquiring an additional 441,995 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in CF Industries by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,928,039 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $232,779,000 after acquiring an additional 414,785 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.