CF Industries Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:CF)

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 9,109 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 64% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,547 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $510,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,030 shares in the company, valued at $5,442,550. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $193,145,000. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in CF Industries by 101.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,014,385 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $342,026,000 after acquiring an additional 2,017,325 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 221.8% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,825,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $204,793,000 after purchasing an additional 1,947,268 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $160,475,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 34.2% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,213,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $447,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329,677 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $99.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective (down from $96.00) on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group lowered CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $83.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays raised CF Industries from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.94.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $79.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.44, a current ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.94 billion, a PE ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $81.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.77. CF Industries has a twelve month low of $60.08 and a twelve month high of $87.90.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 18.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 39.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that CF Industries will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.51%.

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.