CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Stock Rating Lowered by Royal Bank of Canada

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) was downgraded by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They currently have a $100.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective points to a potential upside of 3.08% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on CF Industries in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of CF Industries in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $114.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut shares of CF Industries from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $96.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.69.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF stock opened at $97.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.98. CF Industries has a 52-week low of $69.13 and a 52-week high of $98.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $88.63 and its 200 day moving average is $83.16.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.50. CF Industries had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The business had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CF Industries will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In related news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 3,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total value of $264,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,077,640. The trade was a 2.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $142,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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. Insiders sold a total of 25,389 shares of company stock valued at $2,355,425 in the last three months. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in CF Industries by 2.5% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 12,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $961,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in CF Industries by 323.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 14,774 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 11,287 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 47.1% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 6,414 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 2,055 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 10.6% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 338,510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,615,000 after purchasing an additional 32,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in CF Industries during the second quarter worth approximately $386,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

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.