CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Announces Earnings Results

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.13, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.19% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share.

CF Industries Price Performance

NYSE CF traded up $0.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $81.93. 2,891,657 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,681,406. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $86.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.37. The company has a market cap of $13.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 0.89. CF Industries has a fifty-two week low of $67.34 and a fifty-two week high of $104.45. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 24.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CF. HSBC reduced their price objective on CF Industries from $104.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 target price on shares of CF Industries and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of CF Industries from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $75.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on CF Industries from $96.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.54.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in CF Industries by 0.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,287,256 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $302,428,000 after purchasing an additional 11,792 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in CF Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at $96,560,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in CF Industries by 6.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 989,641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $89,869,000 after acquiring an additional 60,940 shares during the period. Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 628,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $57,776,000 after purchasing an additional 44,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 271,121 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,943,000 after acquiring an additional 2,266 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.