FORA Capital LLC Has $278,000 Stock Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC significantly reduced its stake in CF Industries Holdings by 86.2% in the first quarter, now holding 3,555 shares worth approximately $278,000.
• Notably, two other hedge funds, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec and Groupe la Francaise, increased their holdings in CF Industries by 80.8% and 20.3% respectively during the same period.
• CF Industries recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, reflecting an annualized payout of $2.00 and a dividend yield of 2.3%.

FORA Capital LLC decreased its position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 86.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,555 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 22,134 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC's holdings in CF Industries were worth $278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in CF Industries during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in CF Industries by 119.8% during 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 period. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in CF Industries by 114.1% during 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 period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CF has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of CF Industries from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Barclays raised shares of CF Industries from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (down previously from $93.00) on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CF Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.00.

CF Industries Stock Down 0.8%

CF traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $86.60. 1,380,864 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,940,806. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $90.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.06. The company has a market cap of $14.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 0.95. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 2.84.

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

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.11%.

CF Industries declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to buy up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,812,522.29. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

About CF Industries

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.