Zacks Research Predicts Increased Earnings for CF Industries

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) – Zacks Research boosted their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for shares of CF Industries in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, November 6th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $1.43 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.36. The consensus estimate for CF Industries’ current full-year earnings is $6.12 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for CF Industries’ Q1 2025 earnings at $1.31 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.79 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $5.28 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.75 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on CF. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of CF Industries from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of CF Industries in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of CF Industries from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.42.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $83.71 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $14.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s fifty day moving average is $83.58 and its 200 day moving average is $78.64. CF Industries has a 52 week low of $69.13 and a 52 week high of $90.86. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 15.1% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,188,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $359,386,000 after purchasing an additional 549,569 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 37.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,063,854 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $254,920,000 after purchasing an additional 835,557 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 7.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,871,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $212,823,000 after purchasing an additional 198,246 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 2.8% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,193,528 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $162,584,000 after purchasing an additional 59,674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 5.1% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,422,493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,435,000 after purchasing an additional 68,834 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,268 shares in the company, valued at $5,964,120. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 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 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 31.65%.

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.