CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $91.06 and last traded at $90.98, with a volume of 761241 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $89.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Mizuho upped their target price on CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank increased their target price on CF Industries from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on CF Industries in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.42.

CF Industries Trading Down 2.8 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.10. 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 firm has a market cap of $15.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.98.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is currently 31.65%.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In related news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total transaction of $648,234.02. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 29,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,629,574.22. This represents a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.86, for a total value of $325,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,828,636.48. The trade was a 5.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,701 shares of company stock worth $2,052,704 over the last ninety days. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in CF Industries in the first quarter valued at about $1,040,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 286.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 34,439 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,866,000 after buying an additional 25,516 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 10.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 4,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 28.1% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 761 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS increased its stake in CF Industries by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 35,279 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 4,068 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About CF Industries

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.