CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF Shares Acquired by Panagora Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. significantly increased its position in CF Industries, acquiring a total of 28,988 shares worth approximately $2.27 million, after purchasing an additional 22,431 shares in the first quarter.
• CF Industries has recently been the subject of several analyst rating changes, with Barclays upgrading the stock to "overweight" and raising the target price to $100, while BNP Paribas downgraded it to "hold."
• CF Industries announced a $2 billion stock repurchase plan and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, indicating its leadership believes the stock is undervalued.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 342.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 28,988 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,431 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in CF Industries were worth $2,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,356 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 119.8% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in CF Industries by 1,497.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 109,240 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $8,537,000 after acquiring an additional 102,401 shares during the last quarter. Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in CF Industries by 77.0% in the 1st quarter. Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 584,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $45,640,000 after acquiring an additional 254,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new stake in CF Industries in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,716,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:CF traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $84.39. 2,333,014 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,610,247. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 2.84. The firm has a market cap of $13.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.95. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $90.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.13. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.02. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.19% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on CF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of CF Industries from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $92.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. 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 report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CF Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on shares of CF Industries and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of CF Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total value of $1,002,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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.