Zacks Research Upgrades CF Industries (NYSE:CF) to “Strong-Buy”

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of CF Industries in a report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of CF Industries from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.75.

CF Industries Stock Up 4.9%

Shares of CF traded up $4.09 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $86.96. The company had a trading volume of 878,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,374,466. The company has a market capitalization of $13.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $79.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.33. CF Industries has a one year low of $67.34 and a one year high of $104.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.13. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.47% and a return on equity of 18.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. CF Industries’s revenue was up 21.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CF Industries will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in CF Industries by 78.0% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 292 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in CF Industries by 396.2% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in CF Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 451.3% during the third quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

About CF Industries

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.