KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Grows Stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in CF Industries by 10.6%, owning approximately 0.11% of the company, valuing it at $16.5 million.
• Research firms have downgraded CF Industries with BNP Paribas lowering its rating from "strong-buy" to "hold" and Wells Fargo decreasing its target price from $108 to $101.
• CF Industries announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.2% with a payout ratio of 26.11%.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 179,640 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 17,200 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned approximately 0.11% of CF Industries worth $16,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CF. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 8,352.8% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,451,338 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $113,422,000 after buying an additional 1,434,168 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted 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 buying an additional 959,901 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 113.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 928,701 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $72,123,000 after acquiring an additional 492,846 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,275,464 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $255,977,000 after purchasing an additional 470,746 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,179,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on CF. BNP Paribas cut CF Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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, August 11th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $82.00 target price (down previously from $93.00) on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wolfe Research cut CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Zacks Research cut CF Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.77.

CF Industries Stock Down 1.3%

CF stock opened at $90.73 on Thursday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.34 and a twelve month 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. The firm has a market cap of $14.70 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $87.08 and a 200 day moving average of $86.70.

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

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.11%.

CF Industries Company 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.

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