CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Announces $0.50 Quarterly Dividend

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share by the basic materials company on Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%.

CF Industries has raised its dividend by an average of 10.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 1 years. CF Industries has a dividend payout ratio of 34.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect CF Industries to earn $5.91 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.8%.

CF Industries Price Performance

CF stock traded up $1.79 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $79.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,155,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,534,033. The stock has a market cap of $14.94 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 3.81, a quick ratio of 3.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. CF Industries has a fifty-two week low of $60.08 and a fifty-two week high of $87.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $81.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.77.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 18.44%. The firm’s revenue was down 39.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.35 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that CF Industries will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $510,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,442,550. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CF. Allstate Corp bought a new position in CF Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $216,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $209,000. Wahed Invest LLC increased its stake in CF Industries by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 2,772 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in CF Industries by 1,821.1% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 1,730 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of CF Industries in the 1st quarter worth approximately $121,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on CF shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group downgraded shares of CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $83.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $87.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 price target (down previously from $96.00) on shares of CF Industries in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of CF Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $99.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CF Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.94.

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.