CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 232,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,942 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $20,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in CF Industries by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,982,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $734,351,000 after buying an additional 165,833 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in CF Industries by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,287,256 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $302,428,000 after purchasing an additional 11,792 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in CF Industries by 72.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,728,927 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $159,061,000 after purchasing an additional 724,329 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in CF Industries by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,483,522 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $136,484,000 after purchasing an additional 19,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,472,655 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $132,097,000 after buying an additional 146,801 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CF Industries Stock Performance

NYSE CF opened at $92.86 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $83.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.87. The company has a market capitalization of $14.48 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.70. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.34 and a 1 year high of $104.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.99.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CF. HSBC reduced their target price on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $87.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of CF Industries to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wolfe Research raised CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.14.

CF Industries Profile

CF Industries Holdings, Inc is a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products for agricultural and industrial customers. The company specializes in the production of ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), nitric acid and ammonium nitrate, which serve as key inputs for fertilizer blends, industrial chemicals and other downstream applications.

Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, CF Industries operates production facilities and distribution terminals across North America and the United Kingdom.