Candriam S.C.A. Raises Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 61.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 5,544 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $1,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in CF Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in CF Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 422.0% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in CF Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In related news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,507,745. This represents a 35.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $142,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 93,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,928,670. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,889 shares of company stock valued at $1,130,955. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CF Industries Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:CF opened at $77.28 on Monday. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.48. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.13 and a 12 month high of $98.25. The company has a market capitalization of $13.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.99.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 20.52%. On average, 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 29.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CF. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of CF Industries from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.15.

CF Industries Company 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.