Korea Investment CORP Boosts Stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 88.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 150,374 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 70,585 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.09% of CF Industries worth $12,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CF. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in CF Industries by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in CF Industries by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its position in CF Industries by 422.0% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CF Industries Stock Performance

CF Industries stock opened at $77.35 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.14. The company has a current ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.13 and a 1-year high of $98.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.99.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 15.50%. As a group, analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on CF Industries from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America upgraded CF Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on CF Industries from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.86.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $142,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 93,986 shares in the company, valued at $8,928,670. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $844,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 15,871 shares in the company, valued at $1,507,745. The trade was a 35.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,889 shares of company stock valued at $1,130,955. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CF Industries 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.