KBC Group NV Trims Stock Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

KBC Group NV lessened its stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,156,575 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 13,596 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $150,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CF. SEB Asset Management AB bought a new position in CF Industries in the first quarter worth approximately $19,906,000. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in CF Industries by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 457,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $59,441,000 after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd bought a new stake in CF Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $3,428,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in CF Industries by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 7,003 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $909,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CF shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their price target on CF Industries from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of CF Industries from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CF Industries from $94.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.62.

CF Industries Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $121.17 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.42 and a 12-month high of $141.96. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.51.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from CF Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is presently 17.97%.

CF Industries Company 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.