The Goldman Sachs Group Initiates Coverage on CF Industries (NYSE:CF)

Equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of CF Industries (NYSE:CF) in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm set a “neutral” rating and a $86.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.54% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on CF. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on CF Industries from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on CF Industries from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays cut their price target on CF Industries from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.86.

CF Industries Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE CF opened at $77.80 on Thursday. CF Industries has a one year low of $69.13 and a one year high of $98.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $85.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.39.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. CF Industries had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 20.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. As a group, analysts predict that CF Industries will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In other news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $844,455.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 15,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,507,745. This trade represents a 35.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total value of $144,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 92,486 shares in the company, valued at $8,878,656. This trade represents a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,889 shares of company stock valued at $1,130,955 in the last 90 days. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the third quarter worth $39,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CF Industries Company Profile

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.