CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.50 EPS

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.50, Briefing.com reports. CF Industries had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. CF Industries’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

CF Industries Price Performance

NYSE CF traded up $1.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $84.06. 1,569,340 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,076,122. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $83.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.43. CF Industries has a fifty-two week low of $69.13 and a fifty-two week high of $90.86. The company has a current ratio of 4.70, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $15.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.95.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on CF Industries from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on CF Industries from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays increased their target price on CF Industries from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on CF Industries in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $77.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,964,120. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of CF Industries 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,964,120. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total value of $648,234.02. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 29,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,629,574.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.