CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 8.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 258,164 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,244 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.15% of CF Industries worth $20,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CF. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of CF Industries by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,546 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $4,035,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $14,883,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in CF Industries by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 23,810 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,031,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in CF Industries by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 69,711 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,948,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CF shares. Scotiabank raised CF Industries from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $81.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wolfe Research downgraded CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on CF Industries and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. BNP Paribas raised CF Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on CF Industries from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.07.

CF Industries Price Performance

CF Industries stock traded up $2.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $98.20. The company had a trading volume of 2,912,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,250,379. The company has a market capitalization of $16.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.96. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.34 and a 12-month high of $104.45. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $91.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 2.22.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 21.80% and a return on equity of 17.39%. CF Industries's quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.35%.

CF Industries announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to buy up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total value of $1,002,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,812,522.29. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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.