Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Cuts Stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,617 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 6,587 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in CF Industries were worth $5,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the 4th 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 purchasing 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 purchasing an additional 543,876 shares during the last quarter. Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne Allianz Polska S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,247,000. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $36,583,000 after purchasing an additional 357,531 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CF Industries Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE CF traded up $2.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $93.17. 2,996,820 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,135,412. The company has a market cap of $15.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $80.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.74. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.34 and a 52 week high of $98.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 3.08.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. CF Industries's payout ratio is currently 26.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. BNP Paribas raised shares of CF Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America raised shares of CF Industries from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.