CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after Berenberg Bank raised their price target on the stock from $68.00 to $69.00. The stock had previously closed at $77.80, but opened at $80.60. Berenberg Bank currently has a hold rating on the stock. CF Industries shares last traded at $80.08, with a volume of 531,258 shares.

CF has been the subject of several other reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of CF Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $99.00 price target for the company. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 price target (down from $96.00) on shares of CF Industries in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group lowered CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $95.00 to $83.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of CF Industries from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.94.

Insider Activity

In other CF Industries news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $510,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,442,550. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. River Street Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 6.8% during the first quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 4,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. bought a new stake in CF Industries in the first quarter worth about $863,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in CF Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 12.3% in the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 5,954 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 39.9% during the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 4,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 1,171 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Stock Up 3.5 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $81.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 3.81 and a quick ratio of 3.44.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 18.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 39.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. This is an increase from CF Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.51%.

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.