Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Sells 91,429 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. drastically reduced its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. by 88% in the first quarter, leaving it with 12,518 shares valued at approximately $978,000.
• CF Industries reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.37, slightly exceeding analyst expectations of $2.35, with revenue rising 20.2% year-over-year to $1.89 billion.
• The company has authorized a $2 billion stock repurchase program, allowing for the buyback of up to 14.7% of its shares, often signaling that the board views the stock as undervalued.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. trimmed its stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 88.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,518 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 91,429 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in CF Industries were worth $978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CF. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in CF Industries during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in CF Industries during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 119.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 114.1% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total transaction of $1,002,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,812,522.29. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on CF shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of CF Industries from $108.00 to $101.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price objective on CF Industries and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of CF Industries from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays raised CF Industries from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $95.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on CF Industries from $103.00 to $101.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.00.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF Industries stock traded down $1.63 during trading on Thursday, reaching $83.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,895,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,734,907. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a current ratio of 3.22. The business's fifty day moving average price is $90.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.10. The firm has a market cap of $13.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 0.95. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $67.34 and a one year high of $104.45.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.19% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. CF Industries's payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

CF Industries Company Profile

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.