Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 11,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $922,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CF. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,636 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in CF Industries by 926.1% in the 3rd 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% in the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 54,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,677,000 after purchasing an additional 31,215 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. acquired a new position in CF Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,627,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 27,027 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $510,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,442,550. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF opened at $79.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.03. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $60.08 and a one year high of $87.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 3.81 and a quick ratio of 3.44. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $81.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.67.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 18.44% and a net margin of 23.00%. The business’s revenue was down 39.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.35 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on CF. Barclays raised shares of CF Industries from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $99.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.47.

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.