Baird Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,946 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,234 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $12,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Korea Investment CORP grew its holdings in CF Industries by 88.5% in the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 150,374 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,830,000 after purchasing an additional 70,585 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its stake in CF Industries by 2,848.4% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 290,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,776,000 after buying an additional 280,535 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in CF Industries by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,792,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $494,202,000 after buying an additional 225,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in CF Industries by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 171,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,543,000 after acquiring an additional 21,632 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on CF Industries in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $86.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank upgraded CF Industries from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $81.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded CF Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CF Industries has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.29.

CF Industries Price Performance

NYSE:CF opened at $80.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 3.08 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $76.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.26. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.34 and a 1-year high of $98.25. The firm has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.94.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to buy up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is currently 29.54%.

CF Industries Company Profile

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.