BNP Paribas Upgrades CF Industries (NYSE:CF) to Strong-Buy

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of CF Industries (NYSE:CF) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on CF Industries from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reduced their price target on CF Industries from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Scotiabank upgraded CF Industries from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.20.

CF Industries Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE CF opened at $72.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.84. CF Industries has a one year low of $67.34 and a one year high of $98.25. The company has a current ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $77.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.42.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 15.50%. As a group, analysts predict that CF Industries will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.54%.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total value of $144,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 92,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,878,656. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $844,455.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,871 shares in the company, valued at $1,507,745. The trade was a 35.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,889 shares of company stock worth $1,130,955 over the last three months. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 50.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About CF Industries

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.