Short Interest in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Expands By 8.5%

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,090,000 shares, an increase of 8.5% from the November 30th total of 4,690,000 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

CF Industries Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of CF stock traded up $1.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $85.32. The company had a trading volume of 1,181,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,030,705. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.42. CF Industries has a 12 month low of $69.13 and a 12 month high of $94.46. The company has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.52.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. CF Industries had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The business had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that CF Industries will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $77.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on CF Industries from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on CF Industries from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Oppenheimer started coverage on CF Industries in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $90.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total transaction of $648,234.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 29,211 shares in the company, valued at $2,629,574.22. This trade represents a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.86, for a total transaction of $325,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 62,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,828,636.48. The trade was a 5.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,701 shares of company stock worth $2,052,704 over the last quarter. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in CF Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,149,000. AMG National Trust Bank purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the third quarter worth about $887,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 118.7% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,991 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 8,679 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 271,198 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $23,269,000 after buying an additional 9,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP boosted its holdings in CF Industries by 104.1% in the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 31,111 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,669,000 after buying an additional 15,866 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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