Legato Capital Management LLC Takes Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,506 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $581,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,013,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $449,742,000 after buying an additional 480,126 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,587,999 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $321,852,000 after buying an additional 476,769 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,351,194 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $300,602,000 after buying an additional 63,938 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,133,709 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $281,104,000 after buying an additional 568,710 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,984,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $267,691,000 after buying an additional 114,788 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CF Industries Stock Down 1.8%

CF stock opened at $119.57 on Wednesday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.42 and a 52 week high of $141.96. The company has a market capitalization of $18.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $124.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.99. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $1.35. CF Industries had a net margin of 23.73% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. CF Industries’s revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 17.97%.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In related news, SVP Michael Patrick Mcgrane sold 3,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.50, for a total value of $427,089.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,161 shares in the company, valued at $2,232,256.50. The trade was a 16.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Erik M. Mayer sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total transaction of $187,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 6,341 shares in the company, valued at $790,659.29. The trade was a 19.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 82,408 shares of company stock worth $9,971,298 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CF. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of CF Industries from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.47.

CF Industries Company Profile

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.