CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Trading Down 5% – What’s Next?

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)’s stock price dropped 5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $121.05 and last traded at $121.4870. Approximately 903,757 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 3,922,671 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.86.

CF Industries News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple earnings forecasts for CF Industries, including Q2 2026, Q3 2026, Q4 2026, FY2027 and FY2028, while maintaining a Strong-Buy rating, reinforcing expectations for solid future profitability.
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha highlighted that CF Industries benefits from a structurally tight nitrogen fertilizer market, with limited new global capacity expected until 2030, which supports elevated fertilizer pricing and CF’s low-cost North American position. CF Industries: The Fertilizer Rally Is Far From Over
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also pointed to lower natural gas feedstock costs and robust production, suggesting CF could deliver strong Q2 results and potentially beat current Street estimates. CF Industries: The Fertilizer Rally Is Far From Over
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also published a note saying CF Industries has gained about 28% over the past three months, with strong nitrogen demand, higher prices and healthy cash flow supporting the rally. CF Stock Up 28% in 3 Months: Can it Keep Rallying on Strong Demand?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on CF Industries from $132.00 to $133.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $72.00 price target on CF Industries in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on CF Industries from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on CF Industries from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.47.

CF Industries Stock Up 0.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 3.54 and a quick ratio of 3.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $124.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.22. The company has a market cap of $18.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 0.42.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $1.35. CF Industries had a return on equity of 20.93% and a net margin of 23.73%.The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 15.02 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 87,256 shares in the company, valued at $10,384,336.56. This trade represents 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 available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 18,041 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.06, for a total value of $2,454,658.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,762 shares in the company, valued at $7,586,977.72. This represents a 24.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 82,408 shares of company stock worth $9,971,298 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CF. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $193,657,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 37.6% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the second quarter valued at approximately $96,560,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 203.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,088,286 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $141,303,000 after acquiring an additional 729,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $159,227,000 after acquiring an additional 610,259 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.