CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Shares Purchased by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV raised its position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 48.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 892,998 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 289,925 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned 0.53% of CF Industries worth $69,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CF. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 8,468 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 2,848.4% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 290,384 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,776,000 after purchasing an additional 280,535 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 33,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,050 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $4,035,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on CF Industries in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $86.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $105.00 target price on CF Industries and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank raised CF Industries from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $81.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on CF Industries and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.79.

CF Industries Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $91.04 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $88.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $15.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 0.97. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.34 and a 12-month high of $104.45.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 17.39% and a net margin of 21.80%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. CF Industries's payout ratio is 26.35%.

CF Industries declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

CF Industries 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.

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