Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 13.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 246,639 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 39,906 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.14% of CF Industries worth $21,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CF. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 401.2% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,639,079 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $269,729,000 after acquiring an additional 2,912,942 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its position in CF Industries by 37.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,063,854 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $254,920,000 after purchasing an additional 835,557 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 7,617.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 437,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $375,440,000 after buying an additional 431,910 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of CF Industries by 154.3% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 408,703 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,293,000 after buying an additional 248,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of CF Industries during the first quarter valued at approximately $19,824,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total transaction of $648,234.02. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 29,211 shares in the company, valued at $2,629,574.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total value of $648,234.02. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 29,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,629,574.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $180,000.00. Following the transaction, 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. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CF Industries Stock Performance

CF opened at $85.21 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The firm has a market cap of $14.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.48, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.97. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.13 and a 1-year high of $90.86.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 14.57%. CF Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CF shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of CF Industries from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on CF Industries from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Mizuho increased their price objective on CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.42.

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.