Topic: How To Invest

Pat: What are your thoughts on CF Industries?

Article Excerpt

CF Industries Holdings Inc., $58.42, symbol CF on New York (Shares outstanding: 235.3 million; Market cap: $13.9 billion; www.cfindustries.com), makes nitrogen-based fertilizers from natural gas. The company has six plants: four in the U.S. and two in Canada. It also owns 75.3% of Terra Nitrogen, which makes nitrogen fertilizers at an Oklahoma facility, and operates fertilizer plants in the U.K. and Trinidad through joint ventures. In March 2014, CF sold its phosphate mining and manufacturing operations to Mosaic Co., symbol MOS on New York, for $1.4 billion. That’s the main reason why its revenue declined 15.8% in the three months ended March 31, 2015, to $953.6 million from $1.1 billion a year earlier. Earnings fell 62.9%, to $0.96 from $2.58 (all per-share amounts adjusted for a 5-for-1 stock split in June 2015). Excluding unusual items, such as a gain on the sale of the phosphate business, per-share profits were unchanged…