Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Takes $1.02 Million Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 9,393 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,017,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CF. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $11,556,000. S&CO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,630,000. Twin Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $714,000. AIA Group Ltd purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the first quarter worth approximately $3,428,000. Finally, Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the second quarter worth approximately $10,108,000. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $129.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 4.32 and a current ratio of 4.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $116.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.11. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.42 and a fifty-two week high of $141.96. The firm has a market cap of $19.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.39.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.63 by ($0.90). CF Industries had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 24.41%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 13.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from CF Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on CF shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on CF Industries from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research downgraded CF Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings cut CF Industries from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on CF Industries from $86.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.56.

About CF Industries

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.