Machina Capital S.A.S. Takes Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 6,784 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $539,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CF. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 18,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,636 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in CF Industries by 926.1% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 183,711 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,751,000 after purchasing an additional 165,808 shares during the period. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in CF Industries by 133.8% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 54,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,677,000 after purchasing an additional 31,215 shares in the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $1,627,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 133,439 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,608,000 after buying an additional 27,027 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In other news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $510,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,442,550. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CF shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on CF Industries in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $99.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lowered shares of CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of CF Industries from $86.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of CF Industries in a report on Friday, February 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.44.

CF Industries Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of CF traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $74.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,433,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,448,365. The company has a market cap of $13.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $81.46 and a 200 day moving average of $79.28. The company has a quick ratio of 3.55, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.08 and a 1 year high of $87.90.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.44). CF Industries had a return on equity of 14.08% and a net margin of 19.03%. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.22%.

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.