Brown Advisory Inc. Cuts Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Brown Advisory Inc. lowered its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 29.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,270 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in CF Industries during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in CF Industries by 119.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CF has been the subject of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of CF Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on shares of CF Industries and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 target price on CF Industries and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research lowered CF Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded CF Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total value of $1,002,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 87,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,812,522.29. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of CF stock opened at $95.93 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.34 and a twelve month high of $104.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.34. The company has a market capitalization of $16.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 0.96.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 21.80% and a return on equity of 17.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.35%.

CF Industries declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to repurchase up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.