American National Bank & Trust Invests $402,000 in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,146 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Korea Investment CORP lifted its position in CF Industries by 88.5% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 150,374 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $12,830,000 after purchasing an additional 70,585 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its position in CF Industries by 2,848.4% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 290,384 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,776,000 after purchasing an additional 280,535 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in CF Industries by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,792,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $494,202,000 after purchasing an additional 225,109 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in CF Industries by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 171,807 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,543,000 after purchasing an additional 21,632 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on CF. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of CF Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America upgraded shares of CF Industries from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $86.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.21.

CF Industries Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE CF traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $92.22. 1,470,928 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,126,598. The company's 50-day moving average is $81.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.89. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $67.34 and a one year high of $98.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 3.08. The company has a market capitalization of $15.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.97.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.38. CF Industries had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 20.52%. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. CF Industries's revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.35%.

CF Industries declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to purchase up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership 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.