Howard Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 50,684 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 495 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $4,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $74,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries in the third quarter valued at about $3,149,000. AMG National Trust Bank acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries in the third quarter valued at about $887,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 171,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,543,000 after purchasing an additional 21,632 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 118.7% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,991 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 8,679 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CF. Royal Bank of Canada lowered CF Industries from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lowered CF Industries from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $96.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on CF Industries from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on CF Industries from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on CF Industries from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 93,986 shares in the company, valued at $8,928,670. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the firm’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 owns 15,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,507,745. This trade represents a 35.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,389 shares of company stock valued at $1,455,965. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of CF opened at $77.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.13 and a 12 month high of $98.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $87.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.58. The firm has a market cap of $13.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.98.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. CF Industries had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 20.52%. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is currently 29.54%.

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.