Aurora Investment Counsel Takes $1.05 Million Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Aurora Investment Counsel acquired a new position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $193,657,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 37.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,312,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $333,501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,516 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at $96,560,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,775,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $159,227,000 after purchasing an additional 610,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 115.1% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,019,926 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $78,881,000 after buying an additional 545,668 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, VP Erik M. Mayer sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total value of $187,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 6,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $790,659.29. This trade represents a 19.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.00, for a total value of $756,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 69,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,753,472. This trade represents a 7.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 10,999 shares of company stock valued at $1,381,740 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Stock Up 2.6%

CF Industries stock opened at $109.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.38. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.42 and a 12-month high of $141.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $120.54 and its 200 day moving average is $103.65. The company has a quick ratio of 3.15, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $1.35. CF Industries had a net margin of 23.73% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of CF Industries from $140.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Freedom Capital upgraded CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on CF Industries from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on CF Industries from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on CF Industries from $94.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.00.

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.