National Pension Service Boosts Stock Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

National Pension Service raised its position in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 2,848.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 290,384 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 280,535 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.17% of CF Industries worth $24,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CF. Sprott Inc. increased its stake in CF Industries by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 196,706 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $16,783,000 after buying an additional 1,839 shares during the period. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 14,161 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 41,709 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,559,000 after acquiring an additional 13,345 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $2,149,000. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in CF Industries by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 50,684 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,324,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF stock traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.32. 3,355,098 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,678,838. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $86.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 3.08. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.13 and a 12-month high of $98.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.98.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 20.52%. On average, analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on CF Industries from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of CF Industries from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America upgraded shares of CF Industries from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a "sector underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $142,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 93,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,928,670. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $844,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 15,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,507,745. The trade was a 35.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,889 shares of company stock valued at $1,130,955. 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.