CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF Stock Holdings Boosted by CenterBook Partners LP

Key Points

• CenterBook Partners LP increased its CF Industries stake by 484.2% in the fourth quarter, buying nearly 20,000 additional shares and lifting its position to 24,073 shares worth about $1.86 million.
• CF Industries reported strong first-quarter results, with EPS of $3.98 beating estimates and revenue of $1.99 billion topping forecasts; revenue also rose 19.4% year over year.
• Analysts remain mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold with a $119 price target, while the shares recently traded at $108.43 and the company paid a $0.50 quarterly dividend.

CenterBook Partners LP lifted its position in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 484.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 24,073 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,952 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP's holdings in CF Industries were worth $1,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in CF Industries by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 493 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in CF Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. WPG Advisers LLC grew its holdings in CF Industries by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 552 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in CF Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on CF. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CF Industries from $95.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their price target on CF Industries from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of CF Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of CF Industries from $140.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CF Industries has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $119.00.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of CF Industries stock opened at $108.43 on Wednesday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.42 and a 52 week high of $141.96. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $16.66 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 0.38. The company's 50-day moving average price is $121.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.20.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $1.35. CF Industries had a net margin of 23.73% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. The business's revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 14.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 18,041 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.06, for a total transaction of $2,454,658.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 55,762 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,586,977.72. This trade represents a 24.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.00, for a total value of $756,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $8,753,472. The trade was a 7.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 35,290 shares of company stock worth $4,690,711 over the last quarter. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CF Industries 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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