Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 44,393 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 20.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 266,866 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 44,393 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.15% of CF Industries worth $22,897,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CF. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in CF Industries in the 1st quarter valued at $19,824,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in CF Industries by 17.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 50,243 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,724,000 after buying an additional 7,294 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 286.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 34,439 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,866,000 after acquiring an additional 25,516 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CF Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,710,000. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $2,384,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other CF Industries news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total value 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 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 66,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,964,120. The trade was a 2.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CF traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $87.07. 560,940 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,067,446. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $84.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.95. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $69.13 and a one year high of $90.86. The company has a market cap of $15.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 6.32 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on CF Industries from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of CF Industries in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $77.00 price target for the company. Bank of America downgraded CF Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on CF Industries from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of CF Industries from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Two research 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, CF Industries currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.