Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC reduced its holdings in CF Industries by 46.7% in the first quarter, leaving them with 8,815 shares valued at approximately $689,000.
• Other institutional investors showed activity, with Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increasing its holdings by 1,497.3%, now owning 109,240 shares worth about $8,537,000.
• CF Industries announced a $2.00 billion stock buyback plan to repurchase up to 14.7% of its outstanding shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 46.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,815 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,732 shares during the quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC's holdings in CF Industries were worth $689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 21.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 119.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 1,497.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 109,240 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,537,000 after purchasing an additional 102,401 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries during the first quarter worth about $1,716,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 62.2% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 720 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF stock opened at $83.9490 on Wednesday. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.34 and a fifty-two week high of $104.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $92.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.08. The company has a market capitalization of $13.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96 and a beta of 0.94.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.02. CF Industries had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 20.19%.The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to repurchase up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. CF Industries's payout ratio is 26.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total transaction of $1,002,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CF. Barclays upgraded CF Industries from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded CF Industries from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 target price on CF Industries and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CF Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.00.

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.

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