Nykredit A S Makes New Investment in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• Nykredit A/S purchased 45,247 shares of CF Industries in the second quarter, valued at approximately $4.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.06% of the company, with BlackRock also establishing a major new position.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with CF carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $116.47. The stock opened at $123.08, while several brokerages recently lowered their price targets.
• CF Industries missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $4.73 in EPS and $2.22 billion in revenue, but revenue rose 17.6% year over year. The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.60 per share, equivalent to a 1.9% yield.

Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 45,247 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $4,898,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the second quarter worth about $1,410,607,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in CF Industries by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,458,907 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $579,062,000 after acquiring an additional 146,682 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in CF Industries by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,624,910 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $203,011,000 after acquiring an additional 431,868 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $193,657,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in CF Industries by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,055,637 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $158,983,000 after buying an additional 362,158 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CF. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on CF Industries from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of CF Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of CF Industries from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded CF Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.47.

CF Industries Stock Down 3.6%

CF stock opened at $123.08 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 4.86, a quick ratio of 4.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.42 and a 52 week high of $141.96. The firm's 50-day moving average is $125.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.09.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.63 by ($0.90). CF Industries had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 24.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.37 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 13.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from CF Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. CF Industries's payout ratio is presently 17.79%.

About CF Industries

CF Industries Holdings, Inc is a global producer of nitrogen fertilizer and other nitrogen-based products. The company manufactures ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), ammonium nitrate and nitric acid, which are used primarily in agriculture to support crop production. Its industrial products also serve customers in areas such as emissions control, plastics, resins, chemicals and other manufacturing applications.

CF Industries operates production facilities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom and supplies agricultural and industrial customers in North America and international markets.

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