CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Shares Purchased by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 61.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing 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 reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in CF Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 422.0% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CF Industries news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $844,455.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 15,871 shares in the company, valued at $1,507,745. This represents a 35.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $142,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 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 valued at $1,130,955. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on CF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of CF Industries from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of CF Industries from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of 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, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CF Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.15.

CF Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:CF opened at $77.28 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $86.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.48. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.13 and a 1-year high of $98.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 3.08 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.99.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 20.52%. Analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.54%.

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.