Bridgewater Associates LP Trims Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Bridgewater Associates LP decreased its stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 60.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,537 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,496 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in CF Industries were worth $303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new position in CF Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $373,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in CF Industries during the third quarter valued at $98,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in CF Industries during the third quarter worth about $39,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,286,745 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $711,003,000 after acquiring an additional 300,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,246 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF traded down $2.91 on Wednesday, reaching $91.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 822,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,058,591. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.13 and a 12-month high of $94.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.98. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $86.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.10.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.50. CF Industries had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 19.45%. The business had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. CF Industries's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total transaction of $264,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,077,640. This trade represents a 2.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 29,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,629,574.22. The trade was a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,201 shares of company stock worth $1,727,694. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CF. Bank of America lowered CF Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $83.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank upped their price target 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. Mizuho lifted their price objective on CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $88.42.

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.