CF Industries Holdings, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.50 (NYSE:CF)

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 8th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share by the basic materials company on Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th.

CF Industries has a payout ratio of 32.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect CF Industries to earn $5.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.1%.

CF Industries Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of CF stock traded down $2.08 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $96.68. 276,990 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,234,948. CF Industries has a 1-year low of $67.34 and a 1-year high of $104.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $91.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.02. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.39 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 0.96.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CF Industries will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries announced that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $86.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $92.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,812,522.29. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 141.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 790 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,558 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 638 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 161.1% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 11,870 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 7,324 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in CF Industries by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 14,703 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 4,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in CF Industries by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,368,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.