CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $91.30 and last traded at $91.30, with a volume of 261 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $89.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on CF Industries from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on CF Industries from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. 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 research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of CF Industries in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.42.

CF Industries Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $15.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $85.41 and its 200 day moving average is $79.47.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.50. CF Industries had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 19.45%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 31.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In other news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 29,211 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total transaction of $264,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,077,640. This represents a 2.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,201 shares of company stock valued at $1,727,694 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 401.2% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,639,079 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $269,729,000 after buying an additional 2,912,942 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in CF Industries by 37.5% during the first 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 in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 7,617.5% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 68.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,286,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $711,003,000 after purchasing an additional 300,050 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CF Industries Company Profile

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.