CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.44 EPS

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.44), Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 18.44% and a net margin of 23.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.85 EPS.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CF traded down $4.27 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $73.70. 1,704,118 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,416,829. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 3.81 and a quick ratio of 3.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $81.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.48. CF Industries has a 52 week low of $60.08 and a 52 week high of $87.90. The company has a market cap of $13.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.36, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.02.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $510,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,442,550. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CF. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on shares of CF Industries from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. UBS Group downgraded shares of CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $95.00 to $83.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $88.00 price target (down previously from $96.00) on shares of CF Industries in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.47.

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.