Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 61,140 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. $CF

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 369,321 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,140 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $33,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in CF Industries by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after buying an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in CF Industries by 161.1% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 11,870 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $928,000 after purchasing an additional 7,324 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 14,703 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 4,252 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in CF Industries by 21.8% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 638 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 141.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CF Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. Zacks Research cut CF Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of CF Industries in a research note on Friday, February 20th. HSBC decreased their target price on CF Industries from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $95.00 price target on shares of CF Industries in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.87.

Insider Activity

In other CF Industries news, SVP Michael Patrick Mcgrane sold 3,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.50, for a total value of $427,089.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,232,256.50. This trade represents a 16.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total transaction of $799,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 73,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,192,133. This trade represents a 8.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 47,118 shares of company stock worth $5,280,588 over the last 90 days. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF stock opened at $120.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $18.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 0.68. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.34 and a 52-week high of $121.80. The company has a quick ratio of 2.93, a current ratio of 3.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is $93.59 and its 200 day moving average is $86.95.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.06. CF Industries had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 20.54%.The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CF Industries’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

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.