Strs Ohio Makes New $1.21 Million Investment in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has acquired 15,492 shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc., valued at approximately $1,211,000, as part of its first quarter investments.
• Insider EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares at an average price of $100.23, resulting in a total transaction of over $1 million.
• CF Industries reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.37, exceeding analysts' estimates and reflecting a 20.2% year-over-year revenue increase.

Strs Ohio acquired a new position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,492 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,211,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in CF Industries by 8,352.8% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,451,338 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $113,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434,168 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 959,901 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 113.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 928,701 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $72,123,000 after buying an additional 492,846 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,275,464 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $255,977,000 after buying an additional 470,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the 1st quarter worth about $34,179,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CF Industries Stock Performance

CF stock traded up $0.93 during trading on Friday, hitting $85.03. The company had a trading volume of 6,496,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,431,392. The firm has a market cap of $13.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 0.95. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.34 and a 1-year high of $104.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $88.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.68. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

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

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. CF Industries's payout ratio is 26.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CF. Zacks Research downgraded CF Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. BNP Paribas downgraded CF Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised CF Industries from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $92.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $82.00 target price (down previously from $93.00) on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays upgraded CF Industries from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CF Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.00.

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.