The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Invests $28.68 Million in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 264,963 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,685,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,368,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in CF Industries by 161.1% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 11,870 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $928,000 after purchasing an additional 7,324 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 14,703 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 4,252 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 21.8% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 141.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CF Industries Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of CF Industries stock opened at $125.73 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $117.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.81. The company has a market cap of $19.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32, a PEG ratio of 0.25 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.42 and a 1 year high of $141.96.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.63 by ($0.90). CF Industries had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 24.41%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.37 earnings per share. CF Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 13.7 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from CF Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. CF Industries’s payout ratio is presently 17.79%.

More CF Industries News

Here are the key news stories impacting CF Industries this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CF Industries, JERA Co. and Mitsui & Co. began construction of Blue Point One, a planned $3.7 billion low-carbon ammonia plant in Louisiana. The project is expected to have annual production capacity of approximately 1.4 million metric tons, with production targeted for 2029. CF Industries, JERA Co., and Mitsui & Co. Break Ground on Blue Point One
• Positive Sentiment: Blue Point One is designed to serve both conventional fertilizer customers and emerging energy markets. Its scale—described as potentially the world’s largest low-carbon ammonia facility—could strengthen CF Industries’ position in ammonia and expand its exposure to lower-carbon industrial and energy demand. CF Industries and Partners Break Ground on Low-Carbon Ammonia Plant
• Neutral Sentiment: The project is being developed through a joint venture, which allows CF Industries to share investment and operational responsibilities with major Japanese partners. However, the benefits are several years away, and the construction timeline leaves exposure to cost inflation, permitting, financing and demand risks. CF Industries-led JV Starts Construction of Louisiana Blue Ammonia Project
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional reports highlighted the project’s potential to strengthen U.S. fertilizer supply, but the articles did not provide a new earnings forecast or near-term financial guidance. Consequently, the announcement is more relevant to CF’s long-term growth strategy than to immediate results. $3.7B Louisiana Ammonia Plant Breaks Ground

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on CF. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of CF Industries from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of CF Industries from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of CF Industries from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on CF Industries from $86.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.