Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Lowers Stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ has reduced its holdings in CF Industries by 6.6%, now owning 406,576 shares valued at approximately $31.77 million.
• CF Industries has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, setting an annualized dividend of $2.00 with a yield of 2.14%.
• Investment analysts have mixed ratings on CF Industries, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price set at $94.50.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ decreased its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 406,576 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 28,776 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned 0.24% of CF Industries worth $31,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CF. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $131,350,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in CF Industries by 8,352.8% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,451,338 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $113,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,434,168 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in CF Industries by 72.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,278,354 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $178,053,000 after acquiring an additional 959,901 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in CF Industries by 29.4% during 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 period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in CF Industries by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,830,621 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $753,429,000 after acquiring an additional 543,876 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CF shares. Oppenheimer cut shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $82.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of CF Industries from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank upgraded 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 research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of CF Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.71.

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 transaction of $1,002,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,812,522.29. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CF Industries Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE CF traded down $1.72 on Wednesday, hitting $93.19. 551,355 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,714,029. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $93.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 0.96. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.34 and a 52-week high of $104.45.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 21.80% and a return on equity of 17.39%. CF Industries's quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. CF Industries's payout ratio is 26.35%.

CF Industries announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to purchase up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.