Barings LLC Has $3.53 Million Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• Barings LLC sharply increased its CF Industries stake by 207.5% in the fourth quarter, ending with 45,674 shares valued at about $3.53 million.
• CF Industries beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting EPS of $3.98 versus the $2.63 consensus and revenue of $1.99 billion, up 19.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally positive, with several firms raising price targets, though the overall consensus rating is still “Hold” with a target price of $119.

Barings LLC increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 207.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,674 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,820 shares during the period. Barings LLC's holdings in CF Industries were worth $3,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in CF Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 493 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 552 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on CF Industries from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded CF Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on CF Industries from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CF Industries from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on CF Industries from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $119.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Erik M. Mayer sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total value of $187,035.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 6,341 shares of the company's stock, valued at $790,659.29. This represents a 19.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard A. Hoker sold 3,499 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.38, for a total value of $438,704.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 31,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,891,293.68. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 10,999 shares of company stock valued at $1,381,740 in the last 90 days. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CF Industries Stock Down 2.5%

NYSE:CF opened at $106.48 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $120.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.61. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.42 and a 52-week high of $141.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 3.15 and a current ratio of 3.54. The company has a market cap of $16.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57 and a beta of 0.38.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $1.35. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 20.93% and a net margin of 23.73%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is 17.97%.

About CF Industries

CF Industries Holdings, Inc is a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products for agricultural and industrial customers. The company specializes in the production of ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), nitric acid and ammonium nitrate, which serve as key inputs for fertilizer blends, industrial chemicals and other downstream applications.

Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, CF Industries operates production facilities and distribution terminals across North America and the United Kingdom.

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