Blueshift Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Key Points

• Blueshift Asset Management LLC has acquired a new stake in CF Industries, purchasing 3,900 shares valued at approximately $305,000. This investment highlights continued interest from institutional investors in the company.
• CF Industries recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, reflecting a 2.2% yield, along with a stock repurchase plan allowing for the buyback of up to $2.00 billion of its shares.
• Analysts generally hold a "Hold" rating on CF Industries with an average target price of $95.71, indicating cautious optimism about the company's growth prospects.

Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,900 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CF. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in CF Industries by 228.3% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 77,266 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,493,000 after acquiring an additional 53,729 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in CF Industries by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 595,274 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $50,789,000 after acquiring an additional 112,823 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in CF Industries by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 382,334 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $32,619,000 after acquiring an additional 136,592 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in CF Industries by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 130,575 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $11,140,000 after acquiring an additional 6,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in CF Industries by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,246 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 87,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,812,522.29. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CF. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $82.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of CF Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.71.

CF Industries Stock Down 8.6%

Shares of NYSE CF traded down $7.75 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $82.15. 1,179,141 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,702,264. The stock has a market cap of $13.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.65. 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 0.41, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 2.22.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.02. CF Industries had a net margin of 21.80% and a return on equity of 17.39%. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 purchase up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. CF Industries's payout ratio is 26.35%.

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.