CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.60 Per Share

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of 0.60 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, August 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is a 20.0% increase from CF Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50.

CF Industries has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 3 years. CF Industries has a payout ratio of 32.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect CF Industries to earn $11.23 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.8%.

CF Industries Stock Up 1.8%

CF stock opened at $116.99 on Thursday. CF Industries has a 1 year low of $75.42 and a 1 year high of $141.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.51. The firm has a market cap of $17.97 billion, a PE ratio of 10.51 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank upgraded CF Industries from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $120.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $86.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research downgraded CF Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on CF Industries from $103.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on CF Industries from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.25.

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.