CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF Position Boosted by California State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its CF Industries stake by 10,624% in the second quarter, owning 19.35 million shares valued at approximately $2.09 billion. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 93.06% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with CF Industries carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $116.47, below its reported opening price of $133.06.
• CF Industries reported quarterly earnings of $4.73 per share, missing estimates of $5.63, while revenue reached $2.22 billion. The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.60 per share, implying an annualized yield of 1.8%.

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 10,624.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,345,196 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,164,804 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 12.78% of CF Industries worth $2,094,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in CF Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,410,607,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $193,657,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries in the second quarter worth about $198,857,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in CF Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $186,353,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries during the second quarter valued at $157,850,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $133.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on CF Industries from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of CF Industries in a report on Thursday. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. HSBC dropped their price target on CF Industries from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of CF Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.47.

CF Industries Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE CF opened at $133.06 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $123.95 and its 200-day moving average is $119.62. The company has a current ratio of 4.86, a quick ratio of 4.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. 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 $20.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.40.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.63 by ($0.90). The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 24.41%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.37 EPS. Equities analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 13.7 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from CF Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.79%.

CF Industries Profile

CF Industries Holdings, Inc is a global producer of nitrogen fertilizer and other nitrogen-based products. The company manufactures ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), ammonium nitrate and nitric acid, which are used primarily in agriculture to support crop production. Its industrial products also serve customers in areas such as emissions control, plastics, resins, chemicals and other manufacturing applications.

CF Industries operates production facilities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom and supplies agricultural and industrial customers in North America and international markets.

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