CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Trading 4.3% Higher – Here’s What Happened

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)’s share price was up 4.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $132.00 and last traded at $131.23. 282,553 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 3,352,337 shares. The stock had previously closed at $125.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on CF. HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $130.00 to $121.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of CF Industries from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of CF Industries from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell 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 $116.56.

CF Industries Stock Up 4.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $20.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $119.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.54. The company has a current ratio of 4.86, a quick ratio of 4.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.63 by ($0.90). The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 24.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 13.7 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from CF Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Amundi increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 50.4% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,356,819 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $146,888,000 after purchasing an additional 454,529 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in CF Industries by 253.0% during the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 68,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,373,000 after buying an additional 48,811 shares in the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise increased its stake in CF Industries by 17.2% in the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 56,553 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,122,000 after acquiring an additional 8,299 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in CF Industries during the second quarter worth about $44,614,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 10,624.0% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 19,345,196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,094,311,000 after buying an additional 19,164,804 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by 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.