Stevens Capital Management LP Sells 3,264 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Key Points

• Stevens Capital Management LP reduced its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. by 52.0%, leaving it with 3,012 shares valued at approximately $235,000 at the end of the quarter.
• CF Industries recently announced a $2.00 billion stock repurchase program, indicating the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.
• The company reported an EPS of $1.85 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.38, with revenues of $1.66 billion, up 13.1% year-over-year.

Stevens Capital Management LP decreased its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 52.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,012 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,264 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP's holdings in CF Industries were worth $235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in CF Industries during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 119.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 118.5% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 542 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price objective on CF Industries and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on CF Industries from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised CF Industries from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on CF Industries from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded CF Industries from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $81.00 price objective for the company 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.71.

CF Industries Stock Performance

NYSE CF traded down $1.65 on Wednesday, reaching $93.26. The stock had a trading volume of 507,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,713,814. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 2.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $93.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.74. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.34 and a 1-year high of $104.45. The company has a market cap of $15.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.96.

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

CF Industries announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.35%.

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.