CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $107.80 and last traded at $104.5470, with a volume of 1244337 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $99.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research cut CF Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.53.

CF Industries Trading Up 4.2%

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 market capitalization of $15.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.56.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.06. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The company had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 3,215 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $311,855.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 87,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,522,517. This trade represents a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CF. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 95,289 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,767,000 after buying an additional 18,666 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in CF Industries by 11.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 232,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,868,000 after acquiring an additional 23,942 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CF Industries in the third quarter valued at about $677,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of CF Industries by 878.2% during 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 period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of CF Industries by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 276,542 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,442,000 after acquiring an additional 15,291 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

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.