CF Industries Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:CF)

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 17,233 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 332% compared to the average volume of 3,987 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 119.8% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 114.1% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CF Industries Stock Performance

NYSE CF opened at $93.82 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $82.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.03. CF Industries has a twelve month low of $67.34 and a twelve month high of $98.25. The company has a market capitalization of $15.91 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.38. CF Industries had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 20.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that CF Industries will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.35%.

CF Industries declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to repurchase up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CF. Scotiabank raised CF Industries from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on CF Industries from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group upped their target price on CF Industries from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on CF Industries from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.21.

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.