Groupe la Francaise Increases Stock Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Groupe la Francaise increased its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 56,553 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,299 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $6,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in CF Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,108,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $11,556,000. S&CO Inc. bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the second quarter worth $2,630,000. Twin Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth $714,000. Finally, Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 27.1% in the second quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. now owns 62,022 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,708,000 after buying an additional 13,220 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Price Performance

CF stock opened at $133.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $121.88 and its 200 day moving average is $118.72. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.42 and a 52 week high of $141.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 4.32 and a current ratio of 4.86.

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

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This is a boost from CF Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on CF Industries from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on CF Industries from $94.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. HSBC dropped their price target on CF Industries from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on CF Industries from $133.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.56.

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.