Gotham Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 53.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 609,665 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 213,603 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $47,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in CF Industries by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 552 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Stock Up 0.1%

CF opened at $105.70 on Thursday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.42 and a 52 week high of $141.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $119.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.43. The company has a quick ratio of 3.15, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $16.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 0.38.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $1.35. CF Industries had a return on equity of 20.93% and a net margin of 23.73%.The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of CF Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on CF Industries from $95.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on CF Industries from $94.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Berenberg Bank raised their target price on shares of CF Industries from $86.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.75.

CF Industries Company Profile

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.