Ameriprise Financial Inc. Boosts Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. by 16.8%, owning 3,275,464 shares valued at approximately $256 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• CF Industries recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.3%, with a payout ratio of 26.11%.
• Several brokerages have updated their ratings on CF Industries, with Barclays raising its target price to $100, reflecting a bullish sentiment among some analysts.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 16.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,275,464 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 470,746 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 1.93% of CF Industries worth $255,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in CF Industries by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,356 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,122,000 after buying an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in CF Industries by 119.8% in the 1st 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. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in CF Industries by 1,497.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 109,240 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $8,537,000 after buying an additional 102,401 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 1st quarter worth about $1,716,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas cut shares of CF Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price target on shares of CF Industries and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wolfe Research cut shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on shares of CF Industries and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $8,812,522.29. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CF Industries Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE CF traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $85.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 742,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,737,729. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.34 and a 52-week high of $104.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $91.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 2.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.94.

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

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.11%.

CF Industries announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.