Optimum Investment Advisors Lowers Stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Optimum Investment Advisors lessened its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors’ holdings in CF Industries were worth $34,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in CF Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $476,000. Swedbank AB raised its position in CF Industries by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 271,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,269,000 after purchasing an additional 9,815 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $7,608,000. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of CF Industries by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 5,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CF opened at $83.99 on Friday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.13 and a fifty-two week high of $90.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a current ratio of 4.70. The company has a market cap of $15.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.33.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.50. CF Industries had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.96%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.70 EPS. CF Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on CF Industries in a report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on CF Industries from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total value of $648,234.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 29,211 shares in the company, valued at $2,629,574.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total value of $648,234.02. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 29,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,629,574.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,964,120. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.