CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $77.80, but opened at $80.60. CF Industries shares last traded at $80.08, with a volume of 531,258 shares changing hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is currently 25.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised shares of CF Industries from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group downgraded shares of CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $83.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $88.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.47.

CF Industries Trading Down 0.2 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $81.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.74. The company has a quick ratio of 3.44, a current ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.14, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 18.44%. CF Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 39.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.35 earnings per share. Analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $510,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,442,550. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CF Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CF. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in CF Industries by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 76,830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,918,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. purchased a new position in CF Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $245,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CF Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $232,000. National Pension Service purchased a new position in CF Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,765,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in CF Industries by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,747,358 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,653,523,000 after acquiring an additional 94,482 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

About CF Industries

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.