Ruffer LLP Decreases Stock Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Key Points

• Ruffer LLP lowered its stake in CF Industries by 19.8%, selling 112,440 shares, and now holds 454,018 shares valued at approximately $35.5 million.
• CF Industries announced a $2 billion share repurchase program, indicating confidence in the undervaluation of their stock.
• The company reported an EPS of $1.85 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, with revenues of $1.66 billion reflecting a 13.1% increase year-over-year.

Ruffer LLP reduced its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 19.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 454,018 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 112,440 shares during the quarter. CF Industries comprises 1.4% of Ruffer LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Ruffer LLP owned approximately 0.27% of CF Industries worth $35,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CF. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its stake in CF Industries by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 234,338 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $18,313,000 after purchasing an additional 7,478 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in CF Industries by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 30,436 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $305,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $3,087,000. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its stake in CF Industries by 49.2% during the 1st quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 14,189 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 4,680 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction 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 approximately $8,812,522.29. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE CF traded down $1.72 on Friday, reaching $81.18. 3,700,036 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,751,964. The business's fifty day moving average price is $94.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.02. CF Industries had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 20.19%. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 purchase up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. CF Industries's payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded CF Industries from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $75.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer cut CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price target on CF Industries and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wolfe Research cut CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on CF Industries from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.57.

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.