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CF Industries (CF) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, CF Industries (CF - Free Report) closed at $45.19, marking a +0.31% move from the previous day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.6%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the fertilizer maker had lost 10.06% over the past month. This has lagged the Basic Materials sector's gain of 0.26% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.21% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from CF as it approaches its next earnings report date. This is expected to be August 9, 2021. In that report, analysts expect CF to post earnings of $1.64 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 84.27%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $1.72 billion, up 42.75% from the year-ago period.

CF's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $4.10 per share and revenue of $5.53 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +178.91% and +34.16%, respectively.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for CF. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 3.96% higher within the past month. CF is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note CF's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 10.99. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.04.

Also, we should mention that CF has a PEG ratio of 1.83. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Fertilizers stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.58 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Fertilizers industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 21, which puts it in the top 9% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow CF in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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