Swiss National Bank Sells 24,800 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 603,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 24,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $47,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in CF Industries by 9.5% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 18,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,635,000 after buying an additional 1,636 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its position in CF Industries by 926.1% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 183,711 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,751,000 after buying an additional 165,808 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its position in CF Industries by 133.8% during the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 54,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,677,000 after buying an additional 31,215 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. bought a new position in CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,627,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in CF Industries by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 133,439 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,608,000 after buying an additional 27,027 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,030 shares in the company, valued at $5,442,550. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays raised shares of CF Industries from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 12th. UBS Group downgraded shares of CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $83.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.44.

CF Industries Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of CF Industries stock opened at $74.51 on Tuesday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.08 and a 12-month high of $87.90. The company has a market cap of $13.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $81.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.20.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.44). The company had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 14.08% and a net margin of 19.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is currently 33.22%.

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.