Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $21.16 Million Stock Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 13.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CF. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,149,000. AMG National Trust Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $887,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of CF Industries by 118.7% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,991 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,372,000 after acquiring an additional 8,679 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 3.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 271,198 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $23,269,000 after acquiring an additional 9,815 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP increased its position in CF Industries by 104.1% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 31,111 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,669,000 after purchasing an additional 15,866 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In other news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 7,201 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 29,211 shares in the company, valued at $2,629,574.22. The trade was a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.86, for a total transaction of $325,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 62,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,828,636.48. This trade represents a 5.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,701 shares of company stock worth $2,052,704 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of CF Industries from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America cut shares of CF Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer began coverage on CF Industries in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on CF Industries in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on CF Industries from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.38.

CF Industries Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CF traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $85.09. 707,217 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,042,485. The firm has a market cap of $14.81 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.98. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.13 and a fifty-two week high of $94.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.12. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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. CF Industries had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 19.45%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. CF Industries's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.