Whalen Wealth Management Inc. Makes New Investment in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 11,529 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $901,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 148.6% during the 1st quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 5,046 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 3,016 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 2,968 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 28.1% during the 1st quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,240 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. GAM Holding AG increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 9,519 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 40.5% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,178 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $639,000 after acquiring an additional 2,359 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CF shares. Scotiabank raised CF Industries from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $81.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer lowered CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on CF Industries from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on CF Industries from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.21.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF traded down $3.88 during trading on Monday, reaching $96.48. 5,158,834 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,211,390. The company's 50 day moving average is $86.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.34 and a 52 week high of $104.45.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 17.39% and a net margin of 21.80%. The company's revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 2.07%. CF Industries's payout ratio is 26.35%.

CF Industries announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to repurchase up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.