CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF Shares Sold by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings reduced its CF Industries stake by 18.3% in the second quarter, selling 74,999 shares and retaining 335,016 shares worth approximately $36.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 93.06% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with CF Industries carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $116.56. The company recently missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, despite reporting 17.6% year-over-year revenue growth.
• CF Industries increased its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.60 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.40 and a yield of about 1.8%.

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its holdings in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 335,016 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 74,999 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.22% of CF Industries worth $36,391,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CF. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,410,607,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 3.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,458,907 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $579,062,000 after acquiring an additional 146,682 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 15.3% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,587,999 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $321,852,000 after acquiring an additional 476,769 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in CF Industries by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,570,249 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $276,123,000 after purchasing an additional 381,716 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in CF Industries by 0.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,287,256 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $302,428,000 after purchasing an additional 11,792 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of CF Industries from $133.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $86.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CF Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on CF Industries from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on CF Industries from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $116.56.

CF Industries Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE CF opened at $133.79 on Tuesday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $75.42 and a one year high of $141.96. The company's 50 day moving average price is $121.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 4.32 and a current ratio of 4.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.92, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.40.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.63 by ($0.90). CF Industries had a return on equity of 24.41% and a net margin of 27.12%.The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.37 earnings per share. CF Industries's quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 17.79%.

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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