Boston Partners Has $283.17 Million Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Key Points

• Boston Partners increased its ownership in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. by 9.3% during the first quarter, now holding 3,623,708 shares valued at approximately $283 million.
• CF Industries recently reported an earnings per share of $2.37, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 20.2% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company has also authorized a $2 billion share repurchase program, indicating a belief among executives that the stock is undervalued.

Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 9.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,623,708 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 307,092 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned approximately 2.14% of CF Industries worth $283,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 114.1% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on CF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of CF Industries from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $108.00 to $101.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wolfe Research cut shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Barclays upgraded CF Industries from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.00.

CF Industries Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE CF traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $85.88. The company had a trading volume of 2,428,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,810,435. The company has a market capitalization of $13.91 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.19. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $67.34 and a one year high of $104.45.

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

CF Industries Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. CF Industries's payout ratio is 26.11%.

CF Industries declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program 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 programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $1,002,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CF Industries 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.