CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Shares Bought by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 41.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,794 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $1,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in CF Industries by 459.4% in the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 435,352 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,583,000 after purchasing an additional 357,531 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 68.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 737,352 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $63,263,000 after buying an additional 300,873 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in CF Industries by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,487,821 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $382,901,000 after acquiring an additional 299,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in CF Industries by 2,848.4% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 290,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,776,000 after acquiring an additional 280,535 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CF Industries Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of CF stock opened at $74.99 on Wednesday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.13 and a fifty-two week high of $98.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.15. The stock has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is currently 29.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $844,455.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 15,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,507,745. The trade was a 35.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total transaction of $144,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 92,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,878,656. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,889 shares of company stock valued at $1,130,955. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CF has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of CF Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on CF Industries in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $86.00 price target for the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on CF Industries from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on CF Industries from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of CF Industries from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.86.

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.