CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF Shares Acquired by Barings LLC

Key Points

• Barings LLC boosted its CF Industries stake by 37% in the first quarter, buying an additional 16,886 shares and bringing its position to 62,560 shares worth about $8.1 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 93.06% of CF Industries' stock.
• CF Industries raised its quarterly dividend to $0.60 per share from $0.50, putting the annualized payout at $2.40 and the yield at 2.0%.

Barings LLC increased its stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 37.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 62,560 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,886 shares during the period. Barings LLC's holdings in CF Industries were worth $8,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 1.1% during the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 8,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 12,371 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 614 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 17,528 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $94.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of CF Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on CF Industries from $103.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Two 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $117.25.

CF Industries Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE CF opened at $118.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 0.40. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.42 and a 12 month high of $141.96. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $114.17 and a 200-day moving average of $109.20.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from CF Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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