Insider Selling: CF Industries (NYSE:CF) VP Sells $676,096.72 in Stock

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) VP Richard Hoker sold 6,184 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.33, for a total transaction of $676,096.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 34,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,775,711.55. This trade represents a 15.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

CF Industries Trading Up 9.1%

Shares of CF Industries stock opened at $120.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $18.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 0.68. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.34 and a 52-week high of $121.80. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.95. 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.06. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in CF Industries by 396.2% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in CF Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in CF Industries by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 451.3% in the third quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CF shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho set a $95.00 target price on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research cut shares of CF Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on CF Industries from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CF Industries has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.87.

Key Stories Impacting CF Industries

Here are the key news stories impacting CF Industries this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Geopolitical-driven demand boost: Coverage says the Iran conflict is tightening global fertilizer markets and lifting near-term demand/pricing for major fertilizer producers, which benefits CF’s ammonia and urea businesses. The Iran war is boosting this farming stock
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Several brokers have lifted price targets recently (Barclays raised its target to $120; other shops nudged targets higher), providing a favorable research backdrop that can amplify buying on positive sector news. CF Industries stock page (MarketBeat)
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and payout: Recent quarterly results showed revenue and EPS beats and CF pays a modest dividend (annualized $2.00, ~1.8% yield), supporting the bull case that higher fertilizer prices feed through to earnings. CF Industries stock page (MarketBeat)
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional/hedge fund activity: Reporting shows some hedge funds and institutions adjusting positions in CF; institutional ownership remains very high, which can mute volatility as positions are large and long-term. Hedge fund and insider trading news (InsiderMonkey)
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling this week: Multiple officers (EVP, several VPs and SVPs) disclosed sales adding up to roughly $4.2M in proceeds across filings; repeated executive sales are being parsed by the market as potential portfolio diversification or a cautious signal. Insider selling alerts (InsiderTrades)

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.