iA Global Asset Management Inc. Increases Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in CF Industries by 37% in the first quarter, now holding 16,989 shares valued at approximately $1.33 million.
• CF Industries reported a quarterly EPS of $2.37, exceeding analysts' estimates of $2.16, and experienced a 20.2% revenue increase year-over-year.
• The company has initiated a stock repurchase plan allowing for the buyback of up to $2.00 billion of its outstanding shares, signaling confidence in the company's valuation.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 37.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,989 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 4,589 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in CF Industries were worth $1,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in CF Industries by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,068 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in CF Industries by 125.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 60,914 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,198,000 after purchasing an additional 33,918 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,116,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,883,000. Finally, DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $227,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CF shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on CF Industries from $108.00 to $101.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised CF Industries from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer cut CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on CF Industries from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut CF Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CF Industries has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.69.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total value of $1,002,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 87,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,812,522.29. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CF Industries Stock Performance

CF Industries stock traded up $1.96 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $82.87. 674,835 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,751,900. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $93.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 0.94. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $67.34 and a one year high of $104.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 20.19%. CF Industries's quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. CF Industries's payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

CF Industries declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to repurchase up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.