Danske Bank A S Trims Stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• Danske Bank A S trimmed its stake in CF Industries (NYSE:CF) by 2.8% in Q4, selling 11,202 shares and now holds 392,138 shares (about 0.25%) valued at roughly $30.33 million.
• Insiders have been net sellers, offloading a total of 82,408 shares worth $9.97 million in the past 90 days (notably VP Richard Hoker and EVP Bert Frost), leaving insiders with about 0.51% ownership.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed with an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $118.53, though several firms recently raised targets (e.g., Morgan Stanley to $135 and Wells Fargo to $113).

Danske Bank A S reduced its position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 392,138 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 11,202 shares during the quarter. Danske Bank A S owned 0.25% of CF Industries worth $30,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lakewood Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 12,371 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $957,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 4.9% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,898 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Albert D Mason Inc. increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 2,720 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 1.7% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 8,408 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $754,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CF. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $72.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CF Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $118.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In other news, VP Richard A. Hoker sold 6,184 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.33, for a total transaction of $676,096.72. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 34,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,775,711.55. This trade represents a 15.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total transaction of $1,190,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 87,256 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,384,336.56. This trade represents a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 82,408 shares of company stock valued at $9,971,298 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Price Performance

NYSE CF opened at $122.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a current ratio of 3.37. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $119.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.58. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.42 and a 52-week high of $141.96. The company has a market cap of $18.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 0.42.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.06. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 12.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.22%.

CF Industries Company Profile

CF Industries Holdings, Inc is a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products for agricultural and industrial customers. The company specializes in the production of ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), nitric acid and ammonium nitrate, which serve as key inputs for fertilizer blends, industrial chemicals and other downstream applications.

Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, CF Industries operates production facilities and distribution terminals across North America and the United Kingdom.

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