ING Groep NV Acquires New Stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 20,158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,559,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in CF Industries by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,013,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $449,742,000 after buying an additional 480,126 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in CF Industries by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,587,999 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $321,852,000 after buying an additional 476,769 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in CF Industries by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,351,194 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $300,602,000 after buying an additional 63,938 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in CF Industries by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,133,709 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $281,104,000 after buying an additional 568,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in CF Industries by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,984,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $267,691,000 after buying an additional 114,788 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In related news, VP Richard A. Hoker sold 3,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.38, for a total value of $438,704.62. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 31,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,891,293.68. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 18,041 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.06, for a total transaction of $2,454,658.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,586,977.72. This trade represents a 24.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 35,290 shares of company stock worth $4,690,711 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $86.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $94.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.00.

CF Industries Stock Down 0.9%

CF Industries stock opened at $108.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $121.95 and its 200-day moving average is $103.20. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.42 and a fifty-two week high of $141.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 3.54 and a quick ratio of 3.15.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $1.35. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 23.73% and a return on equity of 20.93%. CF Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is currently 17.97%.

CF Industries Profile

CF Industries Holdings, Inc is a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products for agricultural and industrial customers. The company specializes in the production of ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), nitric acid and ammonium nitrate, which serve as key inputs for fertilizer blends, industrial chemicals and other downstream applications.

Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, CF Industries operates production facilities and distribution terminals across North America and the United Kingdom.