Choate Investment Advisors Buys 188 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Choate Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,976 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in CF Industries were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its stake in shares of CF Industries by 422.0% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CF Industries Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE CF opened at $77.76 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $85.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.31. The company has a market capitalization of $13.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.99. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.13 and a 1-year high of $98.25.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Equities analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.54%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the business’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 $1,507,745. The trade was a 35.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total transaction of $144,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 92,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,878,656. This trade represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,889 shares of company stock worth $1,130,955. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on CF. Barclays dropped their price objective on 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. UBS Group dropped their price objective on CF Industries from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on CF Industries from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has a consensus 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.