Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 39,906 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 246,639 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 39,906 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $21,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CF Industries by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,236 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 4.8% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,089 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in CF Industries by 28.1% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 761 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in CF Industries by 40.4% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 664 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on CF. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on CF Industries from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America downgraded CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on CF Industries from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,964,120. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other CF Industries news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total value of $648,234.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 29,211 shares in the company, valued at $2,629,574.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,964,120. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Stock Up 1.2 %

CF Industries stock opened at $85.21 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $83.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $14.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.97. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.13 and a 52 week high of $90.86.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 31.65%.

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.