Van ECK Associates Corp Reduces Stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its holdings in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 875,273 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 15,943 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $69,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Donoghue Forlines LLC boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 1.9% during the third quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 6,835 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in CF Industries by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in CF Industries by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in CF Industries by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,680 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WP Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CF Industries by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 2,675 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CF. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $87.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of CF Industries from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays raised shares of CF Industries from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on CF Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

CF Industries Stock Performance

CF traded down $1.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $79.60. The company had a trading volume of 407,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,415,815. The business has a 50-day moving average of $81.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.53. The company has a quick ratio of 3.44, a current ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.08 and a 1 year high of $87.90. The company has a market cap of $14.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.03.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.12). CF Industries had a return on equity of 18.44% and a net margin of 23.00%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 39.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.51%.

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.