HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 48,811 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors increased its CF Industries stake by 253% in the second quarter, purchasing 48,811 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 68,103 shares valued at approximately $7.37 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.06% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $116.47, despite CF Industries shares opening at $135.11. The company recently missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, though revenue still rose 17.6% year over year.
• CF Industries raised its quarterly dividend to $0.60 per share from $0.50, equivalent to an annualized dividend of $2.40 and a yield of about 1.8%.

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 253.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,103 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 48,811 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in CF Industries were worth $7,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in CF Industries by 3.7% during the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 13,764 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,787,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 8,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,496 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 418 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded CF Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on CF Industries from $133.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Freedom Broker lowered shares of CF Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $129.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of CF Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CF Industries presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.47.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF Industries stock opened at $135.11 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $123.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.53. The company has a market capitalization of $20.45 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 4.32, a current ratio of 4.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.42 and a 52 week high of $141.96.

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

CF Industries Increases Dividend

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

CF Industries Profile

CF Industries Holdings, Inc is a global producer of nitrogen fertilizer and other nitrogen-based products. The company manufactures ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), ammonium nitrate and nitric acid, which are used primarily in agriculture to support crop production. Its industrial products also serve customers in areas such as emissions control, plastics, resins, chemicals and other manufacturing applications.

CF Industries operates production facilities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom and supplies agricultural and industrial customers in North America and international markets.

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