Nuveen Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lowered its position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 382,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 27,345 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.22% of CF Industries worth $32,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CF. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $131,350,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in CF Industries by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,804,718 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $239,299,000 after buying an additional 637,784 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in CF Industries by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,830,621 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $753,429,000 after buying an additional 543,876 shares during the last quarter. Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne Allianz Polska S.A. acquired a new position in CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,247,000. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in CF Industries by 459.4% in the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 435,352 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,583,000 after buying an additional 357,531 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Stock Up 3.0%

CF Industries stock traded up $2.69 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $91.58. The company had a trading volume of 2,545,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,139,455. The stock has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.94. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.34 and a 1 year high of $98.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $79.07 and a 200 day moving average of $83.59.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The firm's revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.35%.

CF Industries declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to purchase up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CF. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of CF Industries from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of CF Industries from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $86.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of CF Industries from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of CF Industries from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $90.21.

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.