CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CF shares. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. Bank of America downgraded CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $83.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on CF Industries in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In related news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total transaction of $264,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,077,640. This trade represents a 2.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.78, for a total value of $635,460.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,016,314.58. This represents a 23.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,389 shares of company stock worth $2,355,425. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new stake in CF Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 132.1% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 262.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 660 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Stock Performance

NYSE CF opened at $97.01 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $88.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.88. The stock has a market cap of $16.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 2.81. CF Industries has a fifty-two week low of $69.13 and a fifty-two week high of $98.25.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 14.57%. CF Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that CF Industries will post 6.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About CF Industries

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.