CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in 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 daily volume of 6,849,071 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 4.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.
Insider Activity at CF Industries
In related news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total value of $1,190,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 87,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,384,336.56. This represents a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard A. Hoker sold 6,184 shares of the company’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 transaction of $676,096.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 34,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,775,711.55. This trade represents a 15.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 82,408 shares of company stock valued at $9,971,298 in the last ninety days. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Trading of CF Industries
Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in CF Industries by 10.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,013,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $449,742,000 after purchasing an additional 480,126 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 37.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,312,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $333,501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,516 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 15.3% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,587,999 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $321,852,000 after acquiring an additional 476,769 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,570,249 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $276,123,000 after acquiring an additional 381,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 1.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,351,194 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $300,602,000 after acquiring an additional 63,938 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Key CF Industries News
- Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $130 and kept an “overweight” rating, citing upside vs. current levels — a direct analyst upgrade that supports higher share valuations. CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Price Target Raised to $130.00 at Barclays
- Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs increased its price target to $132, adding institutional endorsement and incremental upward pressure on sentiment. The Goldman Sachs Group Increases CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Price Target to $132.00
- Positive Sentiment: Macro support: fertilizer prices are near a multi?year high driven by Middle East tensions, which helps CF’s pricing and margin outlook. This tailwind can boost revenue and EBITDA if sustained. Top 3 fertilizer stocks to buy in April
- Positive Sentiment: Industry bullish take: a Seeking Alpha piece reiterates CF as a strong buy, citing durable U.S. natural?gas cost advantages, share buybacks and production growth that have supported margins and shareholder returns. CF Industries: Shares Are Higher For Longer
- Neutral Sentiment: MSN previews CF’s next earnings report and what to watch (guidance, natural?gas costs, volumes); useful for near?term catalysts but not a directional action by itself. Here’s what to expect from CF Industries’ next earnings report
- Neutral Sentiment: Zacks compares CF vs. Mosaic, highlighting differing earnings trends, costs and returns — useful for relative valuation and positioning but not an immediate stock mover on its own. CF vs. MOS: Which Fertilizer Giant Is the Better Pick Now?
- Negative Sentiment: MarketWatch flagged CF underperforming peers despite daily gains, indicating relative weakness which can trigger short?term selling or rotation out of the stock after a strong YTD run. CF Industries Holdings Inc. stock underperforms Thursday when compared to competitors despite daily gains
CF Industries Trading Down 9.7%
CF Industries stock traded down $12.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $112.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,847,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,083,788. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 3.37 and a quick ratio of 2.93. The stock has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $114.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.46. CF Industries has a 12 month low of $73.56 and a 12 month high of $141.96.
CF Industries (NYSE:CF – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.
CF Industries Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $103.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.87.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on CF Industries
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.
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