Norges Bank Invests $193.66 Million in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Norges Bank purchased a new position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,503,965 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $193,657,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lakewood Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 12,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,898 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 2,720 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 8,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $754,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CF Industries Stock Up 2.8%

CF Industries stock opened at $116.65 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $17.92 billion, a PE ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 3.15 and a current ratio of 3.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $123.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.32. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.42 and a twelve month high of $141.96.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $1.35. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 23.73% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CF. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $86.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $94.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $103.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.00.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, VP Richard A. Hoker sold 3,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.38, for a total value of $438,704.62. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 31,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,891,293.68. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Erik M. Mayer sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.25, for a total transaction of $255,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 7,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,516.25. This represents a 21.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,690 shares of company stock worth $7,206,756. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About CF Industries

CF Industries Holdings, Inc is a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products for agricultural and industrial customers. The company specializes in the production of ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), nitric acid and ammonium nitrate, which serve as key inputs for fertilizer blends, industrial chemicals and other downstream applications.

Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, CF Industries operates production facilities and distribution terminals across North America and the United Kingdom.