Earnings Preview: CF Industries Holdings' EPS, Revenue Expected to Rise

CF Industries Holdings CF announces its next round of earnings this Thursday, August 4, 2011. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Thursday's second quarter earnings announcement.

Earnings and Revenue:

Ahead of the company's earnings announcement, analysts are expecting a positive EPS reading of $5.86/share and revenues of $1.76 billion. CF Industries Holdings' latest numbers will no doubt be compared with the company's year-ago quarter, when it reported a profit of $2.51/share on revenues of $1.31 billion. We'll have to wait for Thursday to see if CF Industries Holdings has accomplished the estimated 133.5% rise in EPS and 34.4% increase in revenues on a year-over-year basis.

Here's how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance:

At last check, shares of CF Industries Holdings were trading at $155.32. Shares are up 15.1% year to date. For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 33.8%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

• Long-term shareholders are already enjoying 12-month gains prior to the announcement

Average Stock Rating:

The average rating by analysts for CF Industries Holdings is a Moderate Buy. Over the past three months this rating's strength has declined slightly.

Competitors:

Wondering how CF Industries Holdings compares to rivals in the same sector? Here are a few of the company's peers.

• Agrium, Inc. (USA AGU: Moderate Buy with a $0.98 recent quarter EPS
• China Green Agriculture (CGA): Hold with a $0.36 recent quarter EPS

The fertilizers company's industry has seen price/earnings growth of 1.9% during the current fiscal year.

Finally, a description of the company's main areas of operation: CF Industries Holdings is a manufacturer and distributor of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer products, including ammonia, urea, urea ammonium nitrate solution, diammonium phosphate and monoammonium phosphate.

Take Action:

There is your peek into CF Industries Holdings' upcoming earnings numbers, including some competitors to watch around the time of the announcement. Check back in with us after the announcement for a full recap of the announcement. In the meantime, here are some links to explore today.

• To see up-to-date news on CF Industries Holdings, click here
• To see other trading ideas, click here
• To see other company earnings recaps, click here