Wills Financial Group LLC Takes Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Key Points

• Wills Financial Group LLC acquired 43,230 shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc., valued at approximately $3,378,000, making it the firm's 27th largest position.
• CF Industries recently reported a net margin of 21.80% and revenue of $1.66 billion for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations.
• The company has authorized a $2.00 billion stock buyback program to repurchase up to 14.7% of its stock, indicating that leadership believes the stock is undervalued.

Wills Financial Group LLC bought a new position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 43,230 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $3,378,000. CF Industries accounts for approximately 1.5% of Wills Financial Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 119.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 114.1% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in CF Industries by 118.5% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 542 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total value of $1,002,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 87,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,812,522.29. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CF Industries Stock Performance

CF Industries stock traded down $1.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $81.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,855,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,752,836. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.34 and a twelve month high of $104.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $94.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.56. The firm has a market cap of $13.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 0.94.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.02. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.19% and a return on equity of 17.26%. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to repurchase up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CF shares. Wolfe Research lowered shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised CF Industries from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on CF Industries from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with 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, CF Industries has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.57.

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.