CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Releases Earnings Results

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40, Zacks reports. CF Industries had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 19.45%.

CF Industries Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE CF traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $83.81. 2,632,275 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,405,342. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.52. CF Industries has a twelve month low of $69.13 and a twelve month high of $98.25. The company has a market cap of $14.58 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.51.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is presently 31.65%.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.78, for a total transaction of $635,460.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,016,314.58. The trade was a 23.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 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 $142,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 93,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,928,670. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,389 shares of company stock valued at $2,091,425. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CF. Oppenheimer cut their target price on CF Industries from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays cut CF Industries from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $96.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector underperform” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of CF Industries in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on CF Industries from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.43.

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.