Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Purchases 277,312 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. by 80.8%, now owning 620,345 shares worth approximately $48.48 million.
• CF Industries announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, reflecting a 2.3% dividend yield based on the current share price.
• The company reported strong financial results, with earnings per share of $2.37, exceeding analysts' expectations, and a 20.2% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 80.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 620,345 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 277,312 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.37% of CF Industries worth $48,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 114.1% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CF Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $82.00 price objective (up from $81.00) on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut CF Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price objective on CF Industries and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays upgraded CF Industries from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.00.

Insider Activity

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 87,923 shares in the company, valued at $8,812,522.29. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CF Industries Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of CF traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $86.60. 1,380,864 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,954,537. 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 1-year low of $67.34 and a 1-year high of $104.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average of $90.74 and a 200-day moving average of $85.04.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is 26.11%.

CF Industries declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to repurchase up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.