CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Shares Down 4.2% – Here’s Why

Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) dropped 4.2% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $119.89 and last traded at $119.98. Approximately 684,351 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 3,483,533 shares. The stock had previously closed at $125.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on CF shares. Zacks Research cut shares of CF Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Freedom Capital raised shares of CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CF Industries in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $129.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.69.

CF Industries Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $114.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 3.54 and a quick ratio of 3.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.15 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 0.39.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from CF Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.97%.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CF. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of CF Industries by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,170,171 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $90,501,000 after buying an additional 248,020 shares in the last quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC acquired a new stake in CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,166,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $300,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth $11,556,000. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $960,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.