Baird Financial Group Inc. Purchases 3,234 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,946 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,234 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of CF Industries worth $12,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Korea Investment CORP boosted its stake in CF Industries by 88.5% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 150,374 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $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 acquiring an additional 280,535 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in CF Industries by 4.0% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 225,109 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in CF Industries by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 171,807 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,543,000 after purchasing an additional 21,632 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CF Industries Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of CF Industries stock traded up $2.99 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $87.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,215,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,687,980. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.23. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.34 and a 1-year high of $98.25.

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 business had revenue of $1.66 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is 26.35%.

CF Industries announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to purchase up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CF has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded CF Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Oppenheimer downgraded CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on CF Industries in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $86.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.93.

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.