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

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 13.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CF. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CF Industries by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,236 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 4.8% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,089 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 28.1% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 761 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 40.4% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 664 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 66,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,964,120. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of CF Industries 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 66,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,964,120. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price target on CF Industries from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. 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 research note on Friday, August 9th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of CF Industries from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on CF Industries from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. 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, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $88.42.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF stock traded up $0.46 on Thursday, hitting $85.67. The company had a trading volume of 649,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,070,851. The firm has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a P/E 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 twelve month low of $69.13 and a twelve month high of $90.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $83.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $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.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 19.45%. CF Industries's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. CF Industries's payout ratio is 31.65%.

About CF Industries

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.