Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Boosts Stock Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Key Points

• The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its ownership in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. by 132.8%, acquiring an additional 24,570 shares, bringing its total to 43,072 shares valued at approximately $3,366,000.
• CF Industries reported a stronger-than-expected earnings per share of $2.37, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.16, and experienced a year-over-year revenue increase of 20.2%.
• The company has initiated a $2.00 billion share buyback program, allowing for the repurchase of up to 14.7% of its shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 132.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,072 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,570 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in CF Industries were worth $3,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CF. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,068 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 125.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 60,914 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,198,000 after purchasing an additional 33,918 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth $8,116,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth $14,883,000. Finally, DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $227,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF stock traded down $2.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.68. The stock had a trading volume of 5,730,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,438,639. The business's fifty day moving average is $93.88 and its 200-day moving average is $85.47. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $13.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 0.94. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.34 and a 1-year high of $104.45.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

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

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 87,923 shares in the company, valued at $8,812,522.29. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CF shares. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on CF Industries and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays upped their target price on CF Industries from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered CF Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Oppenheimer lowered CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on CF Industries from $103.00 to $101.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.57.

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.