Bert Frost Sells 10,000 Shares of CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Stock

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) EVP Bert Frost sold 10,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total value of $1,190,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 87,256 shares in the company, valued at $10,384,336.56. The trade was a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $109.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $92.74 and its 200 day moving average is $86.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a current ratio of 3.37. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.34 and a fifty-two week high of $121.80.

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

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Key CF Industries News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Geopolitical tailwind: Coverage points to the Iran conflict lifting fertilizer prices and creating a bullish backdrop for fertilizer producers like CF, which can benefit from firmer ammonia/urea spreads and stronger pricing. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals: CF reported an earnings beat in mid?February (EPS and revenue above estimates), a healthy net margin and a $0.50 quarterly dividend (annualized $2.00, ~1.8% yield), supporting the company’s cash flow profile. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional positioning: Mixed adjustments by hedge funds and smaller institutional buys/sells were reported; institutional ownership remains high (~93%), which can mute share volatility over time. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large executive sales: EVP Bert A. Frost disclosed sales of >15,500 shares across filings (10,000 shares on Mar 6 and 5,534 on Mar 9), representing material proceeds and partial position reductions; investors often interpret repeated senior?level sales as a negative near?term signal. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader insider selling: Several other officers (VPs and SVPs) disclosed sales this week — combined disclosed proceeds across filings are roughly $4.3M, with notable percentage reductions in some officers’ holdings. That cluster of sales is pressuring sentiment despite the company’s operational strength. Read More.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CF has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research lowered CF Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on CF Industries from $83.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on CF Industries from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.87.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CF. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of CF Industries by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,982,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $734,351,000 after purchasing an additional 165,833 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,013,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $449,742,000 after purchasing an additional 480,126 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in CF Industries by 37.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,312,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $333,501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,516 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in CF Industries by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,587,999 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $321,852,000 after purchasing an additional 476,769 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in CF Industries by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,570,249 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $276,123,000 after buying an additional 381,716 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Company Profile

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.