Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Invests $812,000 in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• Hussman Strategic Advisors opened a new position in CF Industries, buying 10,500 shares in the fourth quarter valued at about $812,000.
• Analysts have raised price targets recently but the consensus remains a "Hold" with an average target of $118.53; notable increases include Morgan Stanley to $135, CIBC to $128 and Wells Fargo to $113.
• CF reported Q earnings of $2.59 EPS (beating $2.53) and revenue of $1.87B (up 22.8% y/y), and it pays a quarterly dividend of $0.50 (annualized $2.00, ~1.6% yield).

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 10,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $812,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lakewood Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 12,371 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $957,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,898 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Albert D Mason Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 2,720 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 8,408 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $754,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CF shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their target price on CF Industries from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on CF Industries from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CF Industries from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on CF Industries from $95.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on CF Industries from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $118.53.

CF Industries Price Performance

CF stock opened at $122.90 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.93, a current ratio of 3.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.42 and a 52-week high of $141.96. The stock's 50 day moving average is $119.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.65. The company has a market capitalization of $18.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 0.42.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.06. CF Industries had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 20.54%.The company had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. CF Industries's revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 12.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. CF Industries's payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, VP Richard A. Hoker sold 3,499 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.38, for a total transaction of $438,704.62. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 31,036 shares in the company, valued at $3,891,293.68. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Patrick Mcgrane sold 3,666 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.50, for a total value of $427,089.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,161 shares in the company, valued at $2,232,256.50. This represents a 16.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 82,408 shares of company stock worth $9,971,298 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Company 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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