Fifth Third Bancorp Purchases 41,235 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its CF Industries stake by 173% in the first quarter, buying 41,235 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 65,066 shares worth about $8.45 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted positions in CF Industries, and institutions now own a large majority of the company’s stock at 93.06%.
• CF Industries recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.60 per share from $0.50, implying a 2.0% annualized yield, while analysts currently have an average Hold rating with a consensus target price of $117.25.

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 173.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,066 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 41,235 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in CF Industries were worth $8,448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KBC Group NV raised its stake in CF Industries by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,170,171 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $90,501,000 after purchasing an additional 248,020 shares in the last quarter. BDF Gestion bought a new stake in CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,779,000. AIA Group Ltd acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $376,000. Polianta Ltd acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,484,000. Finally, Cambiar Investors LLC bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,166,000. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of CF Industries from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group reduced their price target on CF Industries from $140.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on CF Industries from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on CF Industries from $103.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $117.25.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $118.04 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $114.17 and a 200-day moving average of $108.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.42 and a 12 month high of $141.96.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is a boost from CF Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.56%.

CF Industries 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.