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

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. 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 changing hands.

Specifically, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.69, for a total transaction of $854,312.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,472 shares in the company, valued at $10,316,267.68. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 18,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 55,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,586,977.72. This trade represents a 24.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on CF shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $72.00 price objective on CF Industries in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on CF Industries from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of CF Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.87.

CF Industries Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $18.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a current ratio of 3.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.61.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.06. CF Industries had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 20.54%.The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. World Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth $219,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in CF Industries by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 26,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 5,100 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in CF Industries by 18,480.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $101,000. Finally, SG Trading Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $1,440,000. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

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.