CF Industries (NYSE:CF – Get a Rating) had its price target raised by Piper Sandler research analysts from $88.00 to $120.00 in a research report released Monday to clients and investors, reports The Fly. Piper Sandler’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 31.51% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on CF Industries from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “sector performance” rating in a Thursday, February 17 report. BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on CF Industries from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a Friday, Dec. 10 research note. The analyst cites the company’s disclosure that its fourth quarter is going better thanks to good conditions in the global nitrogen market. Jackson adds that even assuming moderation from record prices, CF still appears to be on pace with free cash flow well above $10 per share, which should accelerate buybacks and provide more dry powder for investments. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of CF Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised its price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a Thursday report February 17. Stifel Nicolaus raised his price target on CF Industries shares from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “holding” rating in a Tuesday, March 1 research report. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded CF Industries shares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a Wednesday, February 16, report. Seven equity research analysts gave the stock a hold rating and seven gave the stock a buy rating. Based on MarketBeat data, CF Industries currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.82.

CF shares opened at $91.25 on Monday. The company has a fifty-day moving average price of $72.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.71. CF Industries has a 1-year low of $43.19 and a 1-year high of $91.89. The company has a debt ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The company has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a price/earnings ratio of 21.47, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.00.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF – Get Rating) last released its results on Monday, February 14. The basic materials company reported earnings per share of $3.27 for the quarter, missing Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $3.41 per ($0.14). CF Industries achieved a net margin of 14.03% and a return on equity of 24.09%. In the same quarter of the previous year, the company achieved EPS of $0.40. Equity research analysts expect CF Industries to post EPS of 13.2 for the current year.

In other news, CEO W Anthony Will sold 1,098,645 shares of the company in a trade that took place on Monday, February 28. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.27, for a total transaction of $88,188,234.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, accessible via this link. Additionally, Vice Chairman Bert A. Frost sold 25,000 shares of the company in a trade on Thursday, December 16. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $1,625,000.00. The disclosure of this sale can be found here. In the past 90 days, insiders have sold 1,399,693 shares of the company valued at $112,041,336. 2.00% of the shares are held by insiders.

Several hedge funds have recently increased or reduced their holdings in the stock. Barings LLC increased its holdings of CF Industries shares by 4.0% during the third quarter. Barings LLC now owns 160,240 shares of the basic materials company valued at $8,945,000 after purchasing an additional 6,212 shares in the last quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC increased its stake in CF Industries shares by 4.9% in the third quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 184,671 shares of the basic materials company worth $10,308,000 after buying 8,601 additional shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its stake in CF Industries by 17.0% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 38,344 shares of the basic materials company worth $2,140,000 after acquiring 5,585 additional shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in CF Industries by 12.5% ​​in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 166,804 shares of the basic materials company valued at $9,311,000 after buying an additional 18,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Windsor Creek Advisors LLC increased its position in CF Industries by 38.1% in the third quarter. Windsor Creek Advisors LLC now owns 46,853 shares of the basic materials company worth $2,615,000 after buying an additional 12,920 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.66% of the company’s shares.

CF Industries Company Profile (Get a rating)

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. is engaged in the manufacture and distribution of nitrogen fertilizers. The company owns and operates nitrogen plants and serves agricultural and industrial customers through its distribution system. It operates through the following segments: ammonia, urea granular, UAN, AN and others.

Featured articles

This instant alert was powered by MarketBeat’s narrative science technology and financial data to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reports. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat’s editorial team prior to publication. Please send questions or comments about this story to [email protected]

Should you invest $1,000 in CF Industries right now?

Before you consider CF Industries, you’ll want to hear this.

MarketBeat tracks Wall Street’s top-rated, top-performing research analysts daily and the stocks they recommend to their clients. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the market ripples…and CF Industries didn’t make the list.

Although CF Industries currently has a “Buy” rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

See the 5 actions here