Maple Capital Management Inc. Increases Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Maple Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 22.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 119.8% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 114.1% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Price Performance

CF Industries stock opened at $86.15 on Friday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.34 and a 12-month high of $104.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $89.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 2.84.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.02. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.19% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.11%.

Insider Activity

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total transaction of $1,002,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 87,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,812,522.29. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target (down previously from $93.00) on shares of CF Industries in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays raised shares of CF Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wolfe Research cut shares of CF Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $108.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

CF Industries Profile

CF Industries Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of hydrogen and nitrogen products for energy, fertilizer, emissions abatement, and other industrial activities in North America, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Ammonia, Granular Urea, UAN, AN, and Other segments.