Sarasin & Partners LLP Makes New Investment in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 20,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,716,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $131,350,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,804,718 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $239,299,000 after acquiring an additional 637,784 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,830,621 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $753,429,000 after buying an additional 543,876 shares during the period. Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne Allianz Polska S.A. purchased a new stake in CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth $37,247,000. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 459.4% in the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 435,352 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,583,000 after acquiring an additional 357,531 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of CF Industries from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank raised shares of CF Industries from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. BNP Paribas raised shares of CF Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $90.21.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF traded up $0.82 on Wednesday, reaching $92.95. 1,003,375 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,126,399. The company has a current ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $15.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.97. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.34 and a 1-year high of $98.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $81.90 and a 200-day moving average of $83.91.

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

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.35%.

CF Industries announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to repurchase up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors 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.