Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $6.56 Million Stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 44.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 40,330 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $6,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $193,657,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,178,516 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CF Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $96,560,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in CF Industries by 203.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,088,286 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $141,303,000 after purchasing an additional 729,921 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec grew its holdings in CF Industries by 52.4% during the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,775,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $159,227,000 after purchasing an additional 610,259 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on CF shares. HSBC dropped their price objective on CF Industries from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Bank of America boosted their target price on CF Industries from $103.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Scotiabank upgraded CF Industries from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $120.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on 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, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $129.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.69.

CF Industries Trading Down 1.4%

CF stock opened at $125.53 on Friday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.42 and a 52 week high of $141.96. The company has a market capitalization of $19.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 3.15 and a current ratio of 3.54.

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 issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from CF Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. CF Industries’s payout ratio is presently 17.97%.

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.