CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF Shares Bought by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in CF Industries by 137.1%, acquiring an additional 53,949 shares, bringing its total ownership to 93,308 shares valued at approximately $7.25 million.
• CF Industries reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, with revenue also increasing by 20.2% year-over-year to $1.89 billion.
• The company has initiated a $2.00 billion share buyback plan and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, representing an annualized yield of 2.3%.

Aberdeen Group plc grew its position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 137.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,308 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 53,949 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.06% of CF Industries worth $7,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in CF Industries by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,356 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,122,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in CF Industries by 119.8% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in CF Industries by 1,497.3% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 109,240 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,537,000 after acquiring an additional 102,401 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the 1st quarter worth $1,716,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in CF Industries by 62.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 720 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $82.00 price target (down from $93.00) on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays upgraded shares of CF Industries from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $108.00 to $101.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,812,522.29. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $86.58. The stock had a trading volume of 2,623,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,905,362. The company has a market capitalization of $14.02 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $91.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.99. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.34 and a 1 year high of $104.45.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.19% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. CF Industries's payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

CF Industries announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.