Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Acquires 47,104 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in CF Industries Holdings by 14.6%, now owning approximately 0.22% of the company valued at about $28.9 million.
• CF Industries reported better-than-expected earnings of $2.37 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a 20.2% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company's Board of Directors approved a $2.00 billion stock repurchase program, reflecting confidence in the company's stock value.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 14.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 369,737 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 47,104 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.22% of CF Industries worth $28,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in CF Industries by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 3,068 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $14,883,000. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its position in CF Industries by 499.2% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 21,194 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 17,657 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $609,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in CF Industries by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,071,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays upgraded CF Industries from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price objective on CF Industries and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered CF Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on CF Industries and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded CF Industries from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $75.00 to $92.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CF Industries has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.00.

CF Industries Price Performance

CF stock traded up $0.4550 during trading on Thursday, hitting $85.8850. The company had a trading volume of 520,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,757,703. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $92.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.08. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $13.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 0.94. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.34 and a fifty-two week high of $104.45.

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

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is 26.11%.

CF Industries declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to purchase up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total value of $1,002,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,812,522.29. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

About CF Industries

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.