Candriam S.C.A. Purchases New Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Candriam S.C.A. acquired a new stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 17,236 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,238,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 37.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,312,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $333,501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,516 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in CF Industries by 15.3% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,587,999 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $321,852,000 after buying an additional 476,769 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in CF Industries by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,570,249 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $276,123,000 after buying an additional 381,716 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in CF Industries by 1.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,351,194 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $300,602,000 after buying an additional 63,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in CF Industries by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,147,611 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $243,436,000 after buying an additional 163,320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

CF Industries Trading Down 1.4%

CF Industries stock opened at $119.24 on Wednesday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.42 and a 52 week high of $141.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 3.15 and a current ratio of 3.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.63.

CF Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from CF Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CF Industries from $94.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their price objective on CF Industries from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Freedom Capital upgraded CF Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CF Industries in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, HSBC decreased their target price on CF Industries from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.25.

About CF Industries

CF Industries Holdings, Inc is a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products for agricultural and industrial customers. The company specializes in the production of ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), nitric acid and ammonium nitrate, which serve as key inputs for fertilizer blends, industrial chemicals and other downstream applications.

Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, CF Industries operates production facilities and distribution terminals across North America and the United Kingdom.