CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $91.30 and last traded at $91.30, with a volume of 261 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $83.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on CF Industries from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho increased their target price on CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of CF Industries from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on CF Industries from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.42.

CF Industries Stock Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $15.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $85.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.38.

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

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 31.65%.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In related news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 3,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total value of $264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,077,640. The trade was a 2.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total transaction of $648,234.02. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 29,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,629,574.22. The trade was a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,201 shares of company stock valued at $1,727,694 over the last quarter. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 401.2% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,639,079 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $269,729,000 after purchasing an additional 2,912,942 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its position in CF Industries by 37.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,063,854 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $254,920,000 after acquiring an additional 835,557 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 7,617.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 437,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $375,440,000 after acquiring an additional 431,910 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 68.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 737,352 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,263,000 after purchasing an additional 300,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 3.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,286,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $711,003,000 after purchasing an additional 300,050 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.