Short Interest in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Expands By 10.4%

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF – Get Rating) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,220,000 shares, an increase of 10.4% from the February 13th total of 4,730,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,690,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

CF Industries Stock Performance

NYSE CF opened at $74.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $14.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.57, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.54. CF Industries has a twelve month low of $74.01 and a twelve month high of $119.60. The company has a quick ratio of 3.22, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.13 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 29.91% and a return on equity of 48.59%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.71 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that CF Industries will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 15th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 9.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on CF Industries from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on CF Industries from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. Barclays cut their price target on CF Industries from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Mizuho cut their price target on CF Industries from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on CF Industries in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.58.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in CF Industries by 101.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,014,385 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $342,026,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017,325 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $159,602,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in CF Industries by 83.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,971,287 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $167,954,000 after purchasing an additional 894,857 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in CF Industries by 331.9% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,155,650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $99,074,000 after purchasing an additional 888,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 78.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,821,699 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $154,827,000 after acquiring an additional 799,020 shares in the last quarter. 92.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CF Industries Company Profile

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CF Industries Holdings, Inc engages in the manufacture and distribution of nitrogen fertilizer. The firm owns and operates nitrogen plants and serves agricultural and industrial customers through its distribution system. It operates through following segments: Ammonia, Granular Urea, UAN, AN, and Other.