CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in CF Industries by 20.6%, selling 166,760 shares, leaving it with a total of 642,144 shares valued at approximately $50.2 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard and Ameriprise Financial, increased their stakes in CF Industries during the same quarter, contributing to a high level of institutional ownership of 93.06% in the company.
• CF Industries recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.4%, with a dividend payout ratio of 26.11%.

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 20.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 642,144 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 166,760 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.38% of CF Industries worth $50,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in CF Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 206 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in CF Industries by 114.1% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF stock traded up $2.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $86.88. 1,013,642 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,725,620. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $89.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.95. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.34 and a 12-month high of $104.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a current ratio of 3.22.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.2% 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. CF Industries's payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CF. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $82.00 target price (up from $81.00) on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Zacks Research lowered shares of CF Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on shares of CF Industries and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays upgraded CF Industries from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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 0.71% 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.