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

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,340,000 shares, a drop of 14.7% from the December 15th total of 5,090,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,680,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

CF Industries Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of CF stock opened at $97.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.98. CF Industries has a 12-month low of $69.13 and a 12-month high of $98.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $88.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.88.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 19.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that CF Industries will post 6.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $844,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 15,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,507,745. This trade represents a 35.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $142,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 93,986 shares in the company, valued at $8,928,670. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,389 shares of company stock worth $2,355,425. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CF. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in CF Industries by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 4.9% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in CF Industries by 0.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 23,353 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,004,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in CF Industries by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,399 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on CF Industries from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Oppenheimer started coverage on CF Industries in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on CF Industries in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $77.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.38.

CF Industries Company Profile

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.