CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Short Interest Down 19.1% in March

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 7,247,861 shares, a drop of 19.1% from the March 15th total of 8,953,874 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,849,071 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 4.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Key Headlines Impacting CF Industries

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $130 and kept an “overweight” rating, citing upside vs. current levels — a direct analyst upgrade that supports higher share valuations. CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Price Target Raised to $130.00 at Barclays
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs increased its price target to $132, adding institutional endorsement and incremental upward pressure on sentiment. The Goldman Sachs Group Increases CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Price Target to $132.00
• Positive Sentiment: Macro support: fertilizer prices are near a multi‑year high driven by Middle East tensions, which helps CF’s pricing and margin outlook. This tailwind can boost revenue and EBITDA if sustained. Top 3 fertilizer stocks to buy in April
• Positive Sentiment: Industry bullish take: a Seeking Alpha piece reiterates CF as a strong buy, citing durable U.S. natural‑gas cost advantages, share buybacks and production growth that have supported margins and shareholder returns. CF Industries: Shares Are Higher For Longer
• Neutral Sentiment: MSN previews CF’s next earnings report and what to watch (guidance, natural‑gas costs, volumes); useful for near‑term catalysts but not a directional action by itself. Here’s what to expect from CF Industries’ next earnings report
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks compares CF vs. Mosaic, highlighting differing earnings trends, costs and returns — useful for relative valuation and positioning but not an immediate stock mover on its own. CF vs. MOS: Which Fertilizer Giant Is the Better Pick Now?
• Negative Sentiment: MarketWatch flagged CF underperforming peers despite daily gains, indicating relative weakness which can trigger short‑term selling or rotation out of the stock after a strong YTD run. CF Industries Holdings Inc. stock underperforms Thursday when compared to competitors despite daily gains

Insider Activity

In other CF Industries news, VP Richard A. Hoker sold 6,184 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 34,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,775,711.55. The trade was a 15.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 18,041 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 55,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 82,408 shares of company stock valued at $9,971,298. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $193,657,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in CF Industries by 37.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,312,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $333,501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,516 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CF Industries during the second quarter worth about $96,560,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec raised its position in CF Industries by 52.4% during the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,775,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $159,227,000 after acquiring an additional 610,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 115.1% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,019,926 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $78,881,000 after purchasing an additional 545,668 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on CF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on CF Industries from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on CF Industries from $103.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on CF Industries from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on CF Industries from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.87.

CF Industries Price Performance

CF traded down $12.10 on Friday, hitting $112.61. 6,847,174 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,083,788. CF Industries has a fifty-two week low of $73.56 and a fifty-two week high of $141.96. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $17.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $114.83 and its 200 day moving average is $94.46.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted 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. The company 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

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.