Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Increases Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. significantly increased its holdings in CF Industries by 233.7%, owning 56,276 shares valued at approximately $4.39 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors have also increased their positions in CF Industries, with 93.06% of the stock now held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• CF Industries announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share along with a $2 billion share buyback program, indicating confidence in the company's valuation.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 233.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,276 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 39,412 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in CF Industries were worth $4,391,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 8.2% in the first quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 28,531 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,230,000 after acquiring an additional 2,173 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 183.6% in the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,303 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,587,000 after buying an additional 13,145 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 315.1% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 27,652 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,161,000 after buying an additional 20,990 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 118.1% in the first quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 328,028 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,635,000 after buying an additional 177,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 8.2% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,108,209 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $242,907,000 after buying an additional 234,309 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded CF Industries from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on CF Industries and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Wolfe Research downgraded CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. UBS Group decreased their target price on CF Industries from $103.00 to $101.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded CF Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total transaction of $1,002,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,812,522.29. This 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. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of CF stock opened at $85.3670 on Thursday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.34 and a 1 year high of $104.45. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $92.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.08. The company has a market cap of $13.83 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.94.

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

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend 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 is currently 26.11%.

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

CF Industries Company 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.

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