Sound Shore Management Inc. CT Sells 22,546 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT cut its stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 844,594 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 22,546 shares during the period. CF Industries comprises approximately 2.4% of Sound Shore Management Inc. CT’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $72,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CF. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 92,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,878,656. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the 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 $844,455.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,507,745. The trade was a 35.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,889 shares of company stock worth $1,130,955. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CF Industries Price Performance

CF Industries stock opened at $76.88 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36, 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. The business has a 50-day moving average of $84.43 and a 200-day moving average of $85.19. 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 (NYSE:CF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 20.52%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is currently 29.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CF. Barclays cut their price target on CF Industries from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on CF Industries in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $86.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer cut their price target on CF Industries from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Scotiabank cut their price target on CF Industries from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.86.

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.