Short Interest in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Grows By 11.9%

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,280,000 shares, a growth of 11.9% from the October 15th total of 2,930,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,610,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF traded up $0.33 during trading on Monday, reaching $87.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,900,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,073,460. CF Industries has a twelve month low of $69.13 and a twelve month high of $90.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.21 billion, a PE ratio of 13.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $84.32 and its 200 day moving average is $78.95. 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 (NYSE:CF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that CF Industries will post 6.32 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 66,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,964,120. The trade was a 2.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CF. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new stake in CF Industries in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in CF Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in CF Industries by 132.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in CF Industries by 262.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 660 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in CF Industries by 40.4% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 664 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. 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 report on Friday, October 11th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.42.

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.