CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $95.24, but opened at $91.11. CF Industries shares last traded at $88.80, with a volume of 624,901 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CF. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of CF Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on CF Industries in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $77.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho increased their target price on CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America lowered CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $83.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of CF Industries from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.43.

CF Industries Trading Down 5.9 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $89.17 and a 200 day moving average of $83.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.98.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 19.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In other news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.78, for a total value of $635,460.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,016,314.58. The trade was a 23.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.86, for a total transaction of $325,010.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 62,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,828,636.48. The trade was a 5.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,389 shares of company stock valued at $2,355,425. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in CF Industries by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,286,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $711,003,000 after buying an additional 300,050 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,567,230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $477,668,000 after acquiring an additional 22,392 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in CF Industries by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,188,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $359,386,000 after purchasing an additional 549,569 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in CF Industries by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,193,528 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $162,584,000 after purchasing an additional 59,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in CF Industries by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,300,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,582,000 after purchasing an additional 120,193 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, 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.