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

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.50, Briefing.com reports. CF Industries had a return on equity of 12.96% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. CF Industries’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.

CF Industries Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of CF stock traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $82.34. 1,874,192 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,072,336. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a current ratio of 4.70. CF Industries has a one year low of $69.13 and a one year high of $90.86. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.95.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 35.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CF shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on CF Industries from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on CF Industries from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on CF Industries from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America downgraded CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $83.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on CF Industries from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.67.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In related news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total transaction of $648,234.02. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 29,211 shares in the company, valued at $2,629,574.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total transaction of $648,234.02. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 29,211 shares in the company, valued at $2,629,574.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of the 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 owns 66,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,964,120. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.