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

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 11,737 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 62% compared to the typical volume of 7,250 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on CF shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $72.00 price target on CF Industries in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their price target on CF Industries from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on CF Industries from $97.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on CF Industries from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 10,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total transaction of $1,190,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 87,256 shares in the company, valued at $10,384,336.56. The trade was a 10.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 18,041 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.06, for a total value of $2,454,658.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,586,977.72. This represents a 24.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 82,408 shares of company stock valued at $9,971,298. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lakewood Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 12,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $957,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 17,528 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 78.0% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 292 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,898 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CF Industries Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE CF opened at $130.79 on Tuesday. CF Industries has a 52-week low of $67.34 and a 52-week high of $141.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $109.54 and a 200-day moving average of $92.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 2.93, a current ratio of 3.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

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

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

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.