Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,385 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $343,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in CF Industries by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,805 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,050 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $602,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,009 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,312 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on CF. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of CF Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on CF Industries in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $86.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Oppenheimer cut CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on CF Industries from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.21.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF traded up $6.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $99.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,205,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,157,415. The company has a market cap of $16.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.97. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.34 and a 12-month high of $100.47. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $82.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 3.08.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.38. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. CF Industries's quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.35%.

CF Industries declared that its board has approved a share 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.