Empirical Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 6,310 CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 6,310 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $683,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,410,607,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $193,657,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the second quarter worth about $198,857,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in CF Industries in the second quarter worth about $157,850,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 37.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,312,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $333,501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,516 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CF Industries Price Performance

NYSE CF opened at $119.70 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $115.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.16. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.42 and a 52 week high of $141.96. The stock has a market cap of $18.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 4.86, a quick ratio of 4.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.63 by ($0.90). The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 24.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.37 EPS. Analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 payout ratio is 17.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CF has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on CF Industries from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on CF Industries from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on CF Industries from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on CF Industries from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.56.

CF Industries 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.