4,037 Shares in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 4,037 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of CF Industries in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $86.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of CF Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of CF Industries from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.21.

CF Industries Price Performance

NYSE CF opened at $95.17 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 3.08 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.97. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.34 and a 52-week high of $98.25.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 26.35%.

CF Industries announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to reacquire up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.