Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in CF Industries by 1.5%, acquiring 319,343 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 21 million shares valued at $1.64 billion.
• CF Industries is currently the subject of fluctuating analyst ratings, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.23.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share and announced a stock buyback plan authorizing the repurchase of up to $2 billion in shares.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,040,601 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 319,343 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.41% of CF Industries worth $1,644,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in CF Industries by 119.8% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in CF Industries by 114.1% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in CF Industries by 118.5% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 542 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF stock traded up $1.72 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $82.63. The company had a trading volume of 2,962,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,579,584. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $93.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a current ratio of 3.22. The firm has a market cap of $13.38 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.94. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $67.34 and a one year high of $104.45.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 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 quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued 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 yield of 2.4%. CF Industries's payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,812,522.29. The trade was 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 the SEC website. 0.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CF. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on shares of CF Industries and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $108.00 to $101.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $82.00 target price (up previously from $81.00) on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of CF Industries from $103.00 to $101.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.77.

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.