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

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 13,977 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 264% compared to the typical volume of 3,837 call options.

CF Industries Price Performance

NYSE:CF traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $82.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,523,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,117,734. The company has a current ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $13.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.94. CF Industries has a fifty-two week low of $67.34 and a fifty-two week high of $98.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $76.46 and a 200-day moving average of $83.22.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 20.52%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. CF Industries's payout ratio is currently 26.35%.

CF Industries declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to reacquire up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upgraded CF Industries from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of CF Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of CF Industries from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of CF Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $89.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $74,000. Korea Investment CORP increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 88.5% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 150,374 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,830,000 after buying an additional 70,585 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 2,848.4% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 290,384 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,776,000 after purchasing an additional 280,535 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in CF Industries by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,792,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $494,202,000 after acquiring an additional 225,109 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Company Profile

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.