CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $91.06 and last traded at $90.98, with a volume of 761241 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $89.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on CF shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of CF Industries from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho increased their target price on CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on CF Industries from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.42.

CF Industries Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a market cap of $15.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.19, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $85.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.87.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.50. CF Industries had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.65%.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 3,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total value of $264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,155 shares in the company, valued at $9,077,640. The trade was a 2.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 66,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,964,120. This represents a 2.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,201 shares of company stock worth $1,727,694. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 245,742 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,380,000 after buying an additional 29,101 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 94.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 40,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,485,000 after purchasing an additional 19,760 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $993,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 16,939 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,521,000 after buying an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its stake in CF Industries by 8.7% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 28,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after buying an additional 2,270 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.