Barings LLC Has $1.12 Million Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Key Points

• Barings LLC has significantly reduced its stake in CF Industries, selling 36,494 shares to hold a position worth approximately $1.12 million as of the latest filing.
• The company announced a share repurchase program allowing for the buyback of up to $2 billion in stock, which represents about 14.7% of its shares, indicating management's belief in undervalued shares.
• CF Industries also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, translating to an annual yield of 2.2%, with a payout ratio of 26.35%.

Barings LLC reduced its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 71.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,293 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 36,494 shares during the period. Barings LLC's holdings in CF Industries were worth $1,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 206 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in CF Industries by 114.1% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 value of $1,002,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of CF opened at $91.56 on Friday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.34 and a 52-week high of $104.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.59. The business's 50 day moving average price is $94.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.75. The firm has a market cap of $15.52 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.94.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.38. CF Industries had a return on equity of 17.39% and a net margin of 21.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. CF Industries's payout ratio is 26.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of CF Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on CF Industries from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on shares of CF Industries and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.71.

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.

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