Allstate Corp Invests $460,000 in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Allstate Corp acquired a new position in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CF. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in CF Industries by 4.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 225,109 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 299,173 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in CF Industries by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,316,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $283,044,000 after purchasing an additional 216,395 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CF Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $131,350,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in CF Industries by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,460,993 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $124,652,000 after purchasing an additional 68,164 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CF opened at $79.62 on Wednesday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.13 and a 1 year high of $98.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 3.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $81.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.15. The company has a market capitalization of $13.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.99.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 20.52%. On average, research analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. CF Industries’s payout ratio is 29.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CF shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on CF Industries from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on CF Industries in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $86.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of CF Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.86.

Insider Activity

In other CF Industries news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total transaction of $144,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 92,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,878,656. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ashraf K. Malik sold 8,889 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $844,455.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,871 shares in the company, valued at $1,507,745. This represents a 35.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,889 shares of company stock worth $1,130,955 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.