American Century Companies Inc. Buys 24,135 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 327,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,135 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $27,955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in CF Industries by 16.8% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,449 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $373,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in CF Industries by 111.6% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,649 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $828,000 after buying an additional 5,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in CF Industries by 17.1% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 7,514 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In other news, 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 transaction of $844,455.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 15,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,507,745. This trade represents a 35.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total transaction of $144,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 92,486 shares in the company, valued at $8,878,656. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,889 shares of company stock valued at $1,130,955. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of CF opened at $77.35 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $82.49 and a 200-day moving average of $85.09. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.13 and a 1 year high of $98.25. The company has a market capitalization of $13.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.99. 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 (NYSE:CF) last issued 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. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on CF Industries from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.86.

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.