CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Shares Sold by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. lessened its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 59.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,664 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 8,465 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in CF Industries were worth $483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CF. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 478 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in CF Industries by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 576 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CF Industries Stock Performance

CF traded up $0.98 on Wednesday, reaching $88.90. The company had a trading volume of 428,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,662,527. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.34 and a 1 year high of $98.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $77.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.43.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 20.52%. The business's revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to repurchase up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America raised CF Industries from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of CF Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of CF Industries in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $86.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued 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.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $90.21.

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.