Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 58.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,681 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 69,072 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC's holdings in CF Industries were worth $3,804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,830,621 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $753,429,000 after buying an additional 543,876 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in CF Industries by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,425,518 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $377,585,000 after purchasing an additional 150,461 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in CF Industries by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,804,718 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $239,299,000 after purchasing an additional 637,784 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in CF Industries by 72.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,278,354 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $178,053,000 after purchasing an additional 959,901 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in CF Industries by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,248,740 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $191,862,000 after purchasing an additional 71,512 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
CF Industries Trading Down 1.8%
CF Industries stock opened at $91.01 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.59. The firm has a market cap of $15.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 0.96. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.34 and a 1 year high of $104.45. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $93.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.49.
CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.
CF Industries declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.
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 issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.35%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were 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 owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,812,522.29. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CF. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on CF Industries from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays raised their price target 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. UBS Group raised their price target on CF Industries from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank upgraded CF Industries from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $81.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on CF Industries and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.00.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on CF Industries
About CF Industries
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report).
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider CF Industries, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and CF Industries wasn't on the list.
While CF Industries currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Wondering what the next stocks will be that hit it big, with solid fundamentals? Enter your email address to see which stocks MarketBeat analysts could become the next blockbuster growth stocks.
Get This Free Report
