Altshuler Shaham Ltd Cuts Stock Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Altshuler Shaham Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 29.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 564 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 237 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $45,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $160,475,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in CF Industries by 98.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 891,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,413,000 after purchasing an additional 441,995 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in CF Industries by 146.6% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 502,369 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,073,000 after purchasing an additional 298,673 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in CF Industries by 87.3% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 454,631 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,980,000 after purchasing an additional 211,913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in CF Industries by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,078,652 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $244,753,000 after purchasing an additional 204,536 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CF Industries news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $510,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,442,550. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CF Industries Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE:CF traded down $1.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $73.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,092,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,460,476. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 3.94 and a quick ratio of 3.55. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.08 and a twelve month high of $87.90. The stock has a market cap of $13.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.02.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released 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 firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 19.03% and a return on equity of 14.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $88.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of CF Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $99.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of CF Industries from $86.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of CF Industries from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.00.

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.