California State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its CF Industries stake by 6.3%, selling 12,132 shares and retaining 180,392 shares valued at approximately $23.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.06% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with CF receiving a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $116.69 after several analysts lowered their targets.
• CF Industries raised its quarterly dividend to $0.60 per share from $0.50, implying an annualized dividend of $2.40 and a 1.9% yield.

California State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 180,392 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 12,132 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.12% of CF Industries worth $23,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CF. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,170,171 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $90,501,000 after purchasing an additional 248,020 shares during the last quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,166,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new position in CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $300,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,556,000. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth $960,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CF shares. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Zacks Research downgraded CF Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. UBS Group lowered their price target on CF Industries from $140.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on CF Industries from $86.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, HSBC cut their price objective on CF Industries from $130.00 to $121.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $116.69.

CF Industries Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:CF opened at $125.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 3.54 and a quick ratio of 3.15. The company's fifty day moving average price is $114.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.48. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.42 and a 1-year high of $141.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 0.40.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from CF Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.97%.

CF Industries Company Profile

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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