Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Makes New $8.52 Million Investment in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 99,848 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,519,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CF. FMR LLC boosted its stake in CF Industries by 3.8% in the third 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in CF Industries by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,792,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $494,202,000 after purchasing an additional 225,109 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in CF Industries by 7.1% in 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 buying an additional 299,173 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its stake in CF Industries by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,187,445 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $101,313,000 after buying an additional 93,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 827,407 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $70,594,000 after acquiring an additional 193,487 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF opened at $77.76 on Tuesday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $69.13 and a one year high of $98.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 3.08 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.99.

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

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.54%.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total transaction of $144,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 92,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,878,656. This trade represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $1,507,745. The trade was a 35.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,889 shares of company stock worth $1,130,955. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $82.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on CF Industries from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group lowered their price target on CF Industries from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of CF Industries from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded CF Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CF Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.86.

CF Industries Profile

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.