New York State Common Retirement Fund Boosts Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 178,720 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,579 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $14,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CF. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 428.6% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 370 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in CF Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in CF Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $510,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,442,550. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CF Industries Stock Up 1.0 %

CF stock opened at $80.83 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.53. The stock has a market cap of $15.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.03. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.08 and a twelve month high of $87.90. The company has a quick ratio of 3.44, a current ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 18.44%. CF Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 39.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CF. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $87.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of CF Industries in a research report 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. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on CF Industries in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group cut CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. 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, CF Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.47.

About CF Industries

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.