Credit Agricole S A Buys 27,331 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A increased its stake in CF Industries by 12.8%, acquiring an additional 27,331 shares, bringing its total holdings to 241,593 shares valued at approximately $18.88 million.
• CF Industries reported a EPS of $2.37 for the recent quarter, surpassing analysts’ estimates of $2.35, with revenues rising to $1.89 billion.
• The company announced a $2 billion share buyback plan, allowing the repurchase of up to 14.7% of its stock, indicating the board's belief that shares are undervalued.

Credit Agricole S A lifted its position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 12.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 241,593 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,331 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A owned about 0.14% of CF Industries worth $18,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CF. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth $14,883,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth $609,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,762 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 558.8% in the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 3,518 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 2,984 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 87,923 shares in the company, valued at $8,812,522.29. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised shares of CF Industries from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $82.00 target price (down from $93.00) on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 target price on shares of CF Industries and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of CF Industries from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $75.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $108.00 to $101.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.00.

CF Industries Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of CF Industries stock traded up $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $86.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,634,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,840,914. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $92.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.99. The stock has a market cap of $14.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 2.84. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.34 and a 12 month high of $104.45.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.19% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The business's revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.11%.

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.