Corton Capital Inc. Invests $265,000 in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Corton Capital Inc. bought a new position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,111 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CF. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its holdings in CF Industries by 422.0% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 569 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:CF traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $83.60. 1,155,391 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,114,188. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 3.08. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.34 and a twelve month high of $98.25. The business's fifty day moving average price is $76.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.22.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 15.50%. CF Industries's revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on CF. Bank of America raised CF Industries from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of CF Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped 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 report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank upgraded shares of CF Industries from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $81.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $86.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $89.50.

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.