Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. dramatically increased its stake in CF Industries by 8,352.8%, owning 1,451,338 shares valued at approximately $113.4 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• CF Industries reported earnings of $1.85 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates and achieving a 13.1% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.14%, alongside a $2 billion share repurchase program to enhance shareholder value.

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 8,352.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,451,338 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,434,168 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.86% of CF Industries worth $113,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CF. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in CF Industries during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in CF Industries by 119.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 118.5% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 542 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,812,522.29. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CF Industries Price Performance

CF traded up $0.77 on Tuesday, hitting $93.30. 448,966 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,717,742. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.34 and a fifty-two week high of $104.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $93.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.68. The stock has a market cap of $15.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.96.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.38. CF Industries had a net margin of 21.80% and a return on equity of 17.39%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

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

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CF. Barclays increased their price target on shares of CF Industries from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BNP Paribas raised shares of CF Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wolfe Research cut shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of CF Industries from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $81.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.71.

CF Industries Company 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.