CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Holdings Increased by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 31.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,131 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,255 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in CF Industries were worth $1,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in CF Industries by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,805 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,050 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,009 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in shares of CF Industries by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 18,817 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,605,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of CF Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of CF Industries from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on CF Industries in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $86.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank upgraded 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. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $91.79.

CF Industries Stock Performance

CF stock traded up $0.94 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $91.93. The company had a trading volume of 3,061,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,238,578. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $67.34 and a one year high of $104.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $88.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.54.

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

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.35%.

CF Industries declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to purchase up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 87,923 shares in the company, valued at $8,812,522.29. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

About CF Industries

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.