Legal & General Group Plc Invests $54.53 Million in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 503,706 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,531,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CF. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in CF Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,410,607,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $193,657,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $198,857,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at $157,850,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings 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 valued at $333,501,000 after buying an additional 1,178,516 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of CF Industries from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on CF Industries from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on CF Industries from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on CF Industries from $133.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.56.

More CF Industries News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CF Industries and its partners broke ground on the roughly $3.7 billion Blue Point One low-carbon ammonia plant in Louisiana. The project is designed to produce approximately 1.4 million metric tons annually, with production targeted for 2029. It could strengthen domestic fertilizer supply while positioning CF in the emerging lower-carbon ammonia market. CF Industries and Partners Break Ground on Low-Carbon Ammonia Plant
• Positive Sentiment: Investor Kevin Simpson disclosed that he is buying more CF Industries, describing the fertilizer producer as an attractive way to participate in U.S. reindustrialization. His endorsement may support sentiment around CF’s valuation, domestic manufacturing exposure and expected demand for nitrogen products. Kevin Simpson is buying this play on America’s reindustrialization at a very attractive price
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage contrasted CF’s progress with setbacks affecting Woodside’s blue-ammonia project, highlighting CF’s ability to advance its own lower-carbon ammonia strategy. Woodside blue ammonia plant stumbles, though CF moves ahead
• Neutral Sentiment: The Louisiana project represents a major multiyear capital commitment, so investors will likely monitor construction costs, financing, regulatory support and whether low-carbon ammonia demand develops as expected before the planned 2029 startup. CF Industries and partners break ground on Louisiana ammonia plant

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF opened at $125.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.86, a quick ratio of 4.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $19.03 billion, a PE ratio of 9.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.87. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.42 and a 12-month high of $141.96.

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

CF Industries Increases Dividend

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

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.