Van ECK Associates Corp Has $69.58 Million Stock Position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its position in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 875,273 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 15,943 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.46% of CF Industries worth $69,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 34.2% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,213,654 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $447,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329,677 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 4.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,644,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $312,445,000 after purchasing an additional 151,148 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $244,753,000 after purchasing an additional 204,536 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in CF Industries in the third quarter worth about $160,475,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in CF Industries by 7.4% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,714,890 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $147,035,000 after purchasing an additional 118,308 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CF shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of CF Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $99.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upgraded shares of CF Industries from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of CF Industries from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group cut shares of CF Industries from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler cut shares of CF Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $87.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, EVP Bert A. Frost sold 6,000 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $510,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,030 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,442,550. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE CF traded down $1.86 on Tuesday, hitting $78.97. 1,855,819 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,433,697. The company's 50 day moving average price is $81.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 3.81 and a quick ratio of 3.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.03. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.08 and a twelve month high of $87.90.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.12). CF Industries had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 18.44%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.35 EPS. The company's revenue was down 39.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.51%.

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.