CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 368,127 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 14,869 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $29,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the third quarter worth about $160,475,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 34.2% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,213,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $447,019,000 after buying an additional 1,329,677 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 98.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 891,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,413,000 after buying an additional 441,995 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 146.6% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 502,369 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,073,000 after buying an additional 298,673 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 87.3% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 454,631 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,980,000 after buying an additional 211,913 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $510,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,442,550. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CF. Piper Sandler cut shares of CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $87.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $88.00 price target (down previously from $96.00) on shares of CF Industries in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of CF Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.47.

CF Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:CF opened at $80.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.81, a quick ratio of 3.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.59. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.08 and a twelve month high of $87.90.

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

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

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

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.