Groupe la Francaise Has $6.12 Million Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise increased its CF Industries position by 17.2% in the second quarter, holding 56,553 shares valued at approximately $6.12 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.06% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a mixed outlook, with CF Industries receiving an average “Hold” rating and an average price target of $116.56, below its reported trading price of $133.79.
• CF Industries reported quarterly EPS of $4.73, below the $5.63 consensus estimate, though revenue rose 17.6% year over year to $2.22 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.60 per share.

Groupe la Francaise raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 17.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,553 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,299 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in CF Industries were worth $6,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CF. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 10,624.0% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 19,345,196 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,094,311,000 after buying an additional 19,164,804 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,410,607,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in CF Industries by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,458,907 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $579,062,000 after acquiring an additional 146,682 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in CF Industries by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,587,999 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $321,852,000 after acquiring an additional 476,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in CF Industries by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,570,249 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $276,123,000 after purchasing an additional 381,716 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $129.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries in a report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on CF Industries from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Freedom Capital upgraded CF Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of CF Industries from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.56.

CF Industries Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE CF opened at $133.79 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day moving average is $121.88 and its 200-day moving average is $118.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 4.86 and a quick ratio of 4.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.92, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.40. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $75.42 and a one year high of $141.96.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.63 by ($0.90). The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 24.41% and a net margin of 27.12%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.37 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 13.7 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from CF Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.79%.

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.

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