CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Short Interest Update

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 7,247,861 shares, a drop of 19.1% from the March 15th total of 8,953,874 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,849,071 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 4.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total transaction of $1,190,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 87,256 shares in the company, valued at $10,384,336.56. This trade represents a 10.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard A. Hoker sold 6,184 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.33, for a total value of $676,096.72. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 34,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,775,711.55. The trade was a 15.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 82,408 shares of company stock valued at $9,971,298 in the last 90 days. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CF. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in CF Industries by 268.6% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 179,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,345,000 after buying an additional 131,021 shares during the last quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in CF Industries during the first quarter valued at $3,219,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in CF Industries during the first quarter valued at $357,000. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB purchased a new position in CF Industries during the first quarter valued at $493,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors purchased a new position in CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $219,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CF. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on CF Industries from $95.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on CF Industries from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on CF Industries from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on CF Industries from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CF Industries from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.87.

CF Industries Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of CF traded up $3.68 on Thursday, reaching $124.49. The stock had a trading volume of 2,618,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,277,124. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a current ratio of 3.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.31. CF Industries has a 12-month low of $73.56 and a 12-month high of $141.96.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 20.54%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

CF Industries Company Profile

CF Industries Holdings, Inc is a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products for agricultural and industrial customers. The company specializes in the production of ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), nitric acid and ammonium nitrate, which serve as key inputs for fertilizer blends, industrial chemicals and other downstream applications.

Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, CF Industries operates production facilities and distribution terminals across North America and the United Kingdom.