Barings LLC Lowers Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Barings LLC cut its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 71.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,293 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 36,494 shares during the quarter. Barings LLC’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $1,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,830,621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $753,429,000 after purchasing an additional 543,876 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,425,518 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $377,585,000 after purchasing an additional 150,461 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,804,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $239,299,000 after purchasing an additional 637,784 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 72.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,278,354 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $178,053,000 after purchasing an additional 959,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,248,740 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $191,862,000 after purchasing an additional 71,512 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total transaction of $1,002,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 87,923 shares in the company, valued at $8,812,522.29. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CF Industries Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of CF Industries stock opened at $91.56 on Friday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.34 and a 1 year high of $104.45. The firm has a market cap of $15.52 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 2.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.75.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.38. CF Industries had a net margin of 21.80% and a return on equity of 17.39%. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. CF Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on CF shares. BNP Paribas raised CF Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Scotiabank upgraded CF Industries from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $81.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised CF Industries from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $75.00 to $92.00 in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price target on CF Industries and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on CF Industries from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CF Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.71.

CF Industries 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.