Foster & Motley Inc. Buys 4,680 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Key Points

• Foster & Motley Inc. increased its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. by 49.2% during the first quarter, owning 14,189 shares worth approximately $1.11 million after purchasing an additional 4,680 shares.
• The company reported $1.85 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $1.66 billion, a 13.1% increase year-over-year.
• CF Industries' Board of Directors announced a $2 billion stock buyback program and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, contributing to a 2.16% dividend yield.

Foster & Motley Inc. raised its stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 49.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,189 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,680 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.'s holdings in CF Industries were worth $1,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CF. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 119.8% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 114.1% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE CF traded down $1.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $91.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,655,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,057,867. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.12 and a 200 day moving average of $85.75. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.34 and a twelve month high of $104.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.38. CF Industries had a net margin of 21.80% and a return on equity of 17.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $8,812,522.29. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $82.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank raised shares of CF Industries from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer cut shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.71.

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.