CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Downgraded to Peer Perform Rating by Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research cut shares of CF Industries (NYSE:CF) from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

CF has been the subject of several other research reports. Oppenheimer cut shares of CF Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BNP Paribas raised shares of CF Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $86.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of CF Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.21.

CF Industries Price Performance

NYSE:CF opened at $99.93 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $83.41 and a 200-day moving average of $84.08. The company has a market capitalization of $16.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.97. CF Industries has a 52 week low of $67.34 and a 52 week high of $100.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 3.08.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.38. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CF Industries will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 26.35%.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $131,350,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 8,352.8% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,451,338 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $113,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,434,168 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 72.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,278,354 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $178,053,000 after acquiring an additional 959,901 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,804,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $239,299,000 after acquiring an additional 637,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,830,621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $753,429,000 after acquiring an additional 543,876 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.