Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Increases Stock Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 500.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,039 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,703 shares during the quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP's holdings in CF Industries were worth $1,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 68.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 737,352 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $63,263,000 after buying an additional 300,873 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in CF Industries by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 245,742 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $21,380,000 after purchasing an additional 29,101 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $216,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $657,000. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 123,186 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,510,000 after purchasing an additional 3,775 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of CF traded up $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $82.45. 2,523,318 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,114,398. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $76.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.23. 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 firm has a market cap of $13.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.94. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.34 and a 12-month high of $98.25.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.38. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The business 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 firm earned $1.03 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 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 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.54%.

CF Industries declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on CF. BNP Paribas raised CF Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of CF Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $82.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on CF Industries from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on CF Industries in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $86.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $89.50.

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.