CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Downgraded by Barclays to “Equal Weight”

Barclays cut shares of CF Industries (NYSE:CF) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Barclays currently has $100.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $96.00.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CF. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America cut shares of CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $114.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.69.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CF opened at $93.59 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $88.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.32. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $16.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.98. CF Industries has a 52-week low of $69.13 and a 52-week high of $98.25.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that CF Industries will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total transaction of $144,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 92,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,878,656. This trade represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $844,455.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,507,745. This trade represents a 35.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,389 shares of company stock worth $2,355,425. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 2.5% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 12,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 323.7% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 14,774 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 11,287 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 47.1% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 6,414 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 2,055 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 10.6% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 338,510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,615,000 after purchasing an additional 32,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the second quarter valued at $386,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.