Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 21,622 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $1,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in CF Industries by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 18,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,635,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in CF Industries by 926.1% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 165,808 shares during the period. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in CF Industries by 133.8% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 54,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,677,000 after acquiring an additional 31,215 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,627,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in CF Industries by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 133,439 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,608,000 after acquiring an additional 27,027 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In other news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,442,550. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CF has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays upgraded shares of CF Industries from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Piper Sandler cut shares of CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $87.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CF Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.47.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CF opened at $79.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $14.88 billion, a PE ratio of 10.11, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $81.46 and a 200 day moving average of $79.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 3.44 and a current ratio of 3.81. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $60.08 and a one year high of $87.90.

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

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 25.51%.

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.