Earnest Partners LLC Decreases Stock Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC reduced its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. by 1.6%, holding approximately 2.21 million shares valued at $173 million.
• CF Industries reported earnings of $2.37 per share, surpassing analyst estimates, and achieved revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, up 20.2% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a yield of 2.3%, and initiated a share repurchase plan of up to $2 billion.

Earnest Partners LLC cut its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,213,761 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 34,979 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned approximately 1.31% of CF Industries worth $173,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CF. Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 114.1% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CF Industries Stock Down 0.8%

CF Industries stock traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $86.60. 1,380,864 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,940,806. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $90.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.06. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $67.34 and a one year high of $104.45. The company has a market cap of $14.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 0.95.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.02. CF Industries had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 20.19%.The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. CF Industries's payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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 the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on CF Industries from $108.00 to $101.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Barclays raised CF Industries from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group cut their price objective on CF Industries from $103.00 to $101.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price objective on CF Industries and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $82.00 price objective (up from $81.00) on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.00.

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.