United Services Automobile Association Takes $344,000 Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association invested approximately $344,000 in CF Industries Holdings, acquiring 4,451 shares during the first quarter, reflecting increased interest from institutional investors.
• CF Industries recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.3% and a dividend payout ratio of 26.11%.
• Research analysts have mixed opinions on CF Industries, with a consensus Hold rating and a price target averaging around $95.00, indicating cautious sentiment despite recent earnings outperformance.

United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,451 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $344,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CF. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 8,352.8% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,451,338 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $113,422,000 after buying an additional 1,434,168 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 72.8% during the first 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 acquiring an additional 959,901 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 113.1% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 928,701 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $72,123,000 after acquiring an additional 492,846 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 16.8% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,275,464 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $255,977,000 after purchasing an additional 470,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the first quarter worth about $34,179,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:CF traded down $0.36 on Friday, reaching $85.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,403,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,122,022. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.34 and a 12-month high of $104.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $89.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.43.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.02. CF Industries had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 20.19%.The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research cut CF Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (down from $93.00) on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (up from $81.00) on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on CF Industries and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on CF Industries from $108.00 to $101.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.00.

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.