CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF Shares Acquired by Korea Investment CORP

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. by 118.1%, owning 328,028 shares worth approximately $25.6 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• CF Industries recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%, and initiated a $2 billion share repurchase plan.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for CF Industries, with a consensus target price of $95.00, and ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Sell".

Korea Investment CORP boosted its position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 118.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 328,028 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 177,654 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.19% of CF Industries worth $25,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CF. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,883,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter worth $609,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,071,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in CF Industries by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,762 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam increased its position in CF Industries by 558.8% during the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 3,518 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 2,984 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Stock Up 0.1%

CF traded up $0.06 on Friday, hitting $86.42. 1,634,151 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,840,914. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.34 and a twelve month high of $104.45. The company has a market cap of $14.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $92.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.99.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. CF Industries had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 20.19%.The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. CF Industries's payout ratio is 26.11%.

CF Industries declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to purchase up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CF shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $108.00 to $101.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $82.00 price target (down previously from $93.00) on shares of CF Industries in a report 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. UBS Group cut their target price on CF Industries from $103.00 to $101.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $82.00 target price (up previously from $81.00) on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Monday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total transaction of $1,002,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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.