Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Takes $638,000 Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,475 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $638,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CF. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter worth $74,000. Korea Investment CORP increased its position in CF Industries by 88.5% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 150,374 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,830,000 after purchasing an additional 70,585 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its holdings in CF Industries by 2,848.4% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 290,384 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,776,000 after buying an additional 280,535 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in CF Industries by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,792,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $494,202,000 after buying an additional 225,109 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF traded up $2.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.00. 3,063,291 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,102,602. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $77.92 and a 200-day moving average of $84.42. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.34 and a 12 month high of $98.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.84.

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CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 20.52%. On average, equities analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. CF Industries's payout ratio is 29.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CF. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of CF Industries from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered CF Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America raised CF Industries from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $89.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total value of $144,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 92,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,878,656. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $844,455.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 15,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,507,745. This represents a 35.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,889 shares of company stock valued at $1,130,955. Company insiders own 0.42% 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.