Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,780 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,053 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,780 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CF. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in CF Industries by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,644,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $312,445,000 after buying an additional 151,148 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in CF Industries by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,078,652 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $244,753,000 after acquiring an additional 204,536 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in CF Industries by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,862,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $227,576,000 after purchasing an additional 203,885 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in CF Industries by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,228,297 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $177,119,000 after purchasing an additional 356,318 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in CF Industries by 7.4% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,714,890 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $147,035,000 after purchasing an additional 118,308 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank decreased their price target on CF Industries from $86.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. UBS Group cut shares of CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of CF Industries from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on CF Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $99.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.00.

CF Industries Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of CF stock opened at $78.58 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.02. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.08 and a 12-month high of $87.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $79.90 and a 200-day moving average of $78.81. The company has a quick ratio of 3.55, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.44). The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 14.08% and a net margin of 19.03%. CF Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 33.22%.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $510,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,442,550. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.