Founders Financial Alliance LLC Decreases Stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Founders Financial Alliance LLC cut its stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 402 shares during the quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in CF Industries by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,286,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $711,003,000 after purchasing an additional 300,050 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in CF Industries by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,487,821 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $382,901,000 after buying an additional 299,173 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in CF Industries by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,300,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $111,582,000 after buying an additional 120,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,187,445 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $101,313,000 after purchasing an additional 93,560 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CF Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:CF opened at $76.83 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $13.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $86.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.45. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.13 and a 1-year high of $98.25.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America raised CF Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of CF Industries from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.15.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $844,455.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 15,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,507,745. This trade represents a 35.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $142,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 93,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,928,670. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,889 shares of company stock worth $1,130,955. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.