Royal Bank of Canada Grows Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 61.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 808,904 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 306,782 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.46% of CF Industries worth $69,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in CF Industries by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,830,621 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $753,429,000 after acquiring an additional 543,876 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,792,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $494,202,000 after acquiring an additional 225,109 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in CF Industries by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,487,821 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $382,901,000 after buying an additional 299,173 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in CF Industries by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,425,518 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $377,585,000 after buying an additional 150,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in CF Industries by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,316,616 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $283,044,000 after buying an additional 216,395 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CF Industries Stock Up 0.1%

CF traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $89.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,254,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,136,743. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.34 and a 52 week 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 company has a market capitalization of $15.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $78.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.50.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to buy up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on CF Industries from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on CF Industries in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $86.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered CF Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $82.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price 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. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on CF Industries from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $90.21.

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.