Vise Technologies Inc. Takes $258,000 Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,029 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in CF Industries by 68.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 737,352 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $63,263,000 after purchasing an additional 300,873 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,876 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,943 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $767,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 17,170 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,465,000 after buying an additional 3,801 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in CF Industries by 111.6% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 28,437 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,426,000 after buying an additional 15,001 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CF shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Bank of America upgraded CF Industries from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on CF Industries in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $86.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on CF Industries from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.21.

CF Industries Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of CF Industries stock traded up $0.58 on Friday, hitting $90.69. 3,356,025 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,131,952. The company has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $79.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 3.08 and a quick ratio of 2.52. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $67.34 and a one year high of $98.25.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 20.52%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. CF Industries's payout ratio is 26.35%.

CF Industries declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 management 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.