National Pension Service Sells 279,824 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• The National Pension Service has reduced its holdings in CF Industries by 96.4%, leaving it with 10,560 shares valued at approximately $825,000.
• CF Industries announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.00 and a yield of 2.3%.
• The company reported $2.37 earnings per share in its latest quarterly results, slightly surpassing estimates, with revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter.

National Pension Service reduced its position in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 96.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,560 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 279,824 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service's holdings in CF Industries were worth $825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CF. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of CF Industries by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,356 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,122,000 after buying an additional 2,572 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of CF Industries by 119.8% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in CF Industries by 1,497.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 109,240 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,537,000 after purchasing an additional 102,401 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new position in CF Industries in the 1st quarter worth $1,716,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in CF Industries by 62.2% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 720 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on CF shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $108.00 to $101.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Barclays upgraded shares of CF Industries from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (down from $93.00) on shares of CF Industries in a report on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of CF Industries from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $92.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. One equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.00.

CF Industries Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE CF traded up $0.2860 during trading on Friday, reaching $86.6460. The company had a trading volume of 445,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,749,318. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.34 and a 12-month high of $104.45. The stock has a market cap of $14.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.94. The business's 50-day moving average is $92.43 and its 200 day moving average is $85.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. CF Industries had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 20.19%.The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.11%.

CF Industries announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 87,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,812,522.29. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The transaction 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.