CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $129.57, but opened at $123.93. CF Industries shares last traded at $123.67, with a volume of 1,524,764 shares trading hands.

Specifically, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,250 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.69, for a total value of $854,312.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 75,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,316,267.68. The trade was a 7.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 18,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.06, for a total transaction of $2,454,658.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 55,762 shares in the company, valued at $7,586,977.72. The trade was a 24.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CF shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on CF Industries from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho set a $95.00 price objective on CF Industries in a report on Thursday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on CF Industries from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. HSBC reduced their target price on CF Industries from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on CF Industries from $83.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CF Industries has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.87.

CF Industries Stock Down 5.5%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $96.60 and a 200-day moving average of $87.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 3.37 and a quick ratio of 2.93. The company has a market cap of $18.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60 and a beta of 0.68.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 20.54%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 22.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter worth $193,657,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 37.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,312,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $333,501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,516 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $96,560,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in CF Industries by 926.2% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,118,446 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $102,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec grew its position in CF Industries by 52.4% in the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,775,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $159,227,000 after acquiring an additional 610,259 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CF Industries

CF Industries Holdings, Inc is a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products for agricultural and industrial customers. The company specializes in the production of ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), nitric acid and ammonium nitrate, which serve as key inputs for fertilizer blends, industrial chemicals and other downstream applications.

Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, CF Industries operates production facilities and distribution terminals across North America and the United Kingdom.