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

by · The Markets Daily

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,960,000 shares, a growth of 19.0% from the February 28th total of 6,690,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,610,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 4.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

CF Industries Trading Up 0.4 %

CF Industries stock traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $80.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,353,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,077,461. CF Industries has a 1 year low of $69.13 and a 1 year high of $98.25. The company has a current ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $81.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.11.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.54%.

Insider Activity

In other CF Industries news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $844,455.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 15,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,507,745. This trade represents a 35.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total transaction of $144,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 92,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,878,656. This trade represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,889 shares of company stock worth $1,130,955 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CF. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in CF Industries by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on CF shares. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on CF Industries from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on CF Industries from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on CF Industries from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CF Industries has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.86.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on CF Industries

CF Industries Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

CF Industries Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of hydrogen and nitrogen products for energy, fertilizer, emissions abatement, and other industrial activities in North America, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Ammonia, Granular Urea, UAN, AN, and Other segments.

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