VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Acquires New Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 412,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,614,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned about 0.27% of CF Industries at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CF. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in CF Industries by 10,624.0% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 19,345,196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,094,311,000 after purchasing an additional 19,164,804 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the second quarter valued at about $1,410,607,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $193,657,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the second quarter valued at about $198,857,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the second quarter valued at about $186,353,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $133.79 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $121.31 and its 200 day moving average is $118.44. The company has a market cap of $20.25 billion, a PE ratio of 9.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 4.86 and a quick ratio of 4.32. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.42 and a 1 year high of $141.96.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.63 by ($0.90). CF Industries had a return on equity of 24.41% and a net margin of 27.12%.The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.37 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 13.7 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from CF Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 17.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on CF Industries from $94.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Freedom Capital raised CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen cut CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on CF Industries from $103.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered CF Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.56.

CF Industries Profile

CF Industries Holdings, Inc is a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products for agricultural and industrial customers. The company specializes in the production of ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), nitric acid and ammonium nitrate, which serve as key inputs for fertilizer blends, industrial chemicals and other downstream applications.

Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, CF Industries operates production facilities and distribution terminals across North America and the United Kingdom.