Scotiabank Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Stock

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) had its target price upped by analysts at Scotiabank from $115.00 to $120.00 in a research report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. Scotiabank’s target price indicates a potential upside of 2.99% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of CF Industries from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of CF Industries from $132.00 to $133.00 in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Zacks Research upgraded CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their price objective on CF Industries from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.27.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $116.52 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.46. The company has a quick ratio of 3.15, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. CF Industries has a 52 week low of $75.42 and a 52 week high of $141.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 0.42.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $1.35. CF Industries had a net margin of 23.73% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that CF Industries will post 13.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In other news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 10,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total transaction of $1,190,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 87,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,384,336.56. The trade was a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 18,041 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.06, for a total value of $2,454,658.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 55,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,586,977.72. This represents a 24.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 82,408 shares of company stock worth $9,971,298. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in CF Industries by 2.3% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 24,696 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,206,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS purchased a new stake in CF Industries in the 1st quarter worth $350,000. Glenview Trust Co lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 2.5% during the first quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 47,278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the first quarter valued at about $260,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 21.0% during the first quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,385 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CF Industries Company Profile

CF Industries Holdings, Inc is a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products for agricultural and industrial customers. The company specializes in the production of ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), nitric acid and ammonium nitrate, which serve as key inputs for fertilizer blends, industrial chemicals and other downstream applications.

Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, CF Industries operates production facilities and distribution terminals across North America and the United Kingdom.