Lazard Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,721 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,745 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $2,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CF. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 50.8% in the 4th 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 during the period. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of CF stock opened at $87.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 3.08 and a quick ratio of 2.52. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.34 and a 1-year high of $98.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $77.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.35.

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

CF Industries declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to repurchase up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CF shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of CF Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of CF Industries from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of CF Industries from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of CF Industries from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of CF Industries from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $81.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.21.

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.