CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on CF Industries from $94.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on CF Industries from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Barclays boosted their target price on CF Industries from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CF Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on CF Industries from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.75.

CF Industries Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE CF opened at $105.67 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 3.54 and a quick ratio of 3.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.23. CF Industries has a 12 month low of $75.42 and a 12 month high of $141.96. The company has a market capitalization of $16.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 0.38.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $1.35. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 23.73% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that CF Industries will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in CF Industries by 878.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 17,941 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,609,000 after acquiring an additional 16,107 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 369,321 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,128,000 after purchasing an additional 61,140 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,170,171 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $90,501,000 after purchasing an additional 248,020 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the third quarter worth approximately $376,000. Finally, BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,779,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

About CF Industries

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.