Short Interest in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Rises By 11.0%

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,060,000 shares, a growth of 11.0% from the June 30th total of 4,560,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,070,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Currently, 2.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 133,439 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,608,000 after purchasing an additional 27,027 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in CF Industries by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 29,902 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,377,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in CF Industries by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 45,314 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,602,000 after acquiring an additional 2,985 shares in the last quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 12,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 2,536 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $421,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Stock Performance

CF stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.38. 1,540,861 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,287,813. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.50. The company has a quick ratio of 3.55, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. CF Industries has a twelve month low of $69.13 and a twelve month high of $87.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.95.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.44). The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 19.03% and a return on equity of 14.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 26.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CF Industries will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is presently 33.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CF shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of CF Industries from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on CF Industries from $82.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on CF Industries from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on CF Industries from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.87.

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.