CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Trading Down 5% – Should You Sell?

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)’s share price was down 5% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $121.05 and last traded at $121.4870. Approximately 903,757 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 3,922,671 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CF shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $103.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $72.00 target price on shares of CF Industries in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of CF Industries from $140.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CF Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.47.

CF Industries Stock Down 4.9%

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.66. The firm has a market cap of $18.68 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 3.54 and a quick ratio of 3.15.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $1.35. CF Industries had a return on equity of 20.93% and a net margin of 23.73%.The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 15.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 17.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 18,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.06, for a total transaction of $2,454,658.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,762 shares in the company, valued at $7,586,977.72. The trade was a 24.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Richard A. Hoker sold 6,184 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.33, for a total value of $676,096.72. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 34,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,775,711.55. This trade represents a 15.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 82,408 shares of company stock worth $9,971,298 over the last three months. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in CF Industries by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Eley Financial Management Inc boosted its position in CF Industries by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 13,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,787,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its position in CF Industries by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 8,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in CF Industries by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,496 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Lakewood Asset Management LLC boosted its position in CF Industries by 0.9% in 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. 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.