CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Rating Increased to Neutral at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) was upgraded by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $92.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $75.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would indicate a potential downside of 0.82% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research lowered CF Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on CF Industries and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays boosted their target price on CF Industries from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Oppenheimer lowered CF Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on CF Industries from $82.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.71.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF Industries stock opened at $92.76 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 0.96. CF Industries has a 12 month low of $67.34 and a 12 month high of $104.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 17.39% and a net margin of 21.80%. CF Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to repurchase up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total transaction of $1,002,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 87,923 shares in the company, valued at $8,812,522.29. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in CF Industries during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in CF Industries during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 119.8% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.