CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during 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. Currently, 4.7% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,610,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

CF Industries Stock Down 8.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CF traded down $6.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $72.91. 4,001,482 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,083,132. The company has a market cap of $12.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.84. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $80.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. CF Industries has a one year low of $69.13 and a one year high of $98.25.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. CF Industries had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 20.52%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

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CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $844,455.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $142,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 93,986 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,928,670. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,889 shares of company stock worth $1,130,955. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CF. FMR LLC lifted its stake in CF Industries by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,830,621 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $753,429,000 after purchasing an additional 543,876 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in CF Industries by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,792,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $494,202,000 after acquiring an additional 225,109 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in CF Industries by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,487,821 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $382,901,000 after acquiring an additional 299,173 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in CF Industries by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,425,518 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $377,585,000 after purchasing an additional 150,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,316,616 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $283,044,000 after purchasing an additional 216,395 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on CF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered CF Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America upgraded shares of CF Industries from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of CF Industries from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $89.86.

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.