Teacher Retirement System of Texas Trims Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 30.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 181,867 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 78,301 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.11% of CF Industries worth $14,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in CF Industries by 21.8% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,356 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,122,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP raised its position in CF Industries by 88.5% in the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 150,374 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,830,000 after acquiring an additional 70,585 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in CF Industries by 1,497.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 102,401 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on CF. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on shares of CF Industries and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $86.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $105.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $91.79.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $8,812,522.29. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF traded down $0.07 on Friday, reaching $93.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,516,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,236,186. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.34 and a 52-week high of $104.45. The company has a market cap of $15.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.59.

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

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. CF Industries's payout ratio is currently 26.35%.

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