Norges Bank Buys Shares of 2,429,494 CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 2,429,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $193,145,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 15,287 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in CF Industries by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 160,574 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,766,000 after acquiring an additional 11,383 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth $1,046,000. Monetta Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth $795,000. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $556,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CF opened at $79.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.24, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.81. The company has a quick ratio of 3.55, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.08 and a 52-week high of $87.90.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.44). The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 14.08% and a net margin of 19.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 26.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 33.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CF shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $99.00 price objective for the company. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on CF Industries from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on CF Industries from $82.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on CF Industries from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on CF Industries from $86.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.00.

Insider Activity at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $5,442,550. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Company 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.