Mizuho Boosts CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Price Target to $105.00

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Mizuho from $100.00 to $105.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underperform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Mizuho’s price target suggests a potential downside of 21.98% from the company’s previous close.

CF has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of CF Industries from $97.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of CF Industries from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Zacks Research cut shares of CF Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.93.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CF traded down $3.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $134.57. 957,537 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,068,382. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 0.68. CF Industries has a one year low of $67.34 and a one year high of $141.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a current ratio of 3.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $105.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.86.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.06. CF Industries had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 20.54%.The company had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. CF Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In other news, SVP Michael Patrick Mcgrane sold 3,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.50, for a total transaction of $427,089.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,161 shares in the company, valued at $2,232,256.50. This trade represents a 16.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total value of $1,190,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 87,256 shares in the company, valued at $10,384,336.56. This represents a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 82,408 shares of company stock worth $9,971,298 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 232,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,868,000 after buying an additional 23,942 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 878.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 17,941 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,609,000 after acquiring an additional 16,107 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in CF Industries by 19.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 369,321 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,128,000 after acquiring an additional 61,140 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CF Industries during the third quarter worth approximately $677,000. Finally, AIA Group Ltd purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $376,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CF Industries Company Profile

CF Industries Holdings, Inc is a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products for agricultural and industrial customers. The company specializes in the production of ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), nitric acid and ammonium nitrate, which serve as key inputs for fertilizer blends, industrial chemicals and other downstream applications.

Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, CF Industries operates production facilities and distribution terminals across North America and the United Kingdom.