CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.40 EPS

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40, Zacks reports. CF Industries had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 19.45%.

CF Industries Trading Up 0.7 %

CF Industries stock traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $83.81. The stock had a trading volume of 2,632,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,405,342. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.51. CF Industries has a twelve month low of $69.13 and a twelve month high of $98.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The firm has a market cap of $14.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.98.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 31.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on CF shares. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector underperform” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lowered shares of CF Industries from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $96.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of CF Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.78, for a total value of $635,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,016,314.58. This trade represents a 23.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total transaction of $144,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 92,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,878,656. This trade represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,389 shares of company stock valued at $2,091,425. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.