Trexquant Investment LP Lowers Stock Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP reduced its stake in CF Industries by 37.4%, selling 50,701 shares and now owning 0.05% of the company valued at approximately $6.64 million.
• CF Industries reported $2.37 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 20.2%.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 2.3%, signaling ongoing financial support for shareholders.

Trexquant Investment LP decreased its holdings in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 37.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,911 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 50,701 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.05% of CF Industries worth $6,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CF. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in CF Industries during the first quarter worth $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in CF Industries during the first quarter worth $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in CF Industries by 114.1% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the 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 owned 87,923 shares in the company, valued at $8,812,522.29. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CF. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $108.00 to $101.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of CF Industries from $103.00 to $101.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price target on shares of CF Industries and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on shares of CF Industries and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.00.

CF Industries Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE CF traded down $1.18 during trading on Thursday, hitting $83.59. The stock had a trading volume of 2,101,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,736,001. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.34 and a 12 month high of $104.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 2.84. The company has a market capitalization of $13.54 billion, a PE ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $90.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.10.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.19% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

About CF Industries

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.