Allstate Corp Acquires Shares of 5,389 CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CF. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CF Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of CF Industries by 50.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of CF Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in CF Industries by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in CF Industries by 422.0% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of CF Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on 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. Scotiabank reduced their target price on CF Industries from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on CF Industries from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of CF Industries from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.86.

Insider Transactions at CF Industries

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 1,500 shares of CF Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $142,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 93,986 shares in the company, valued at $8,928,670. The trade was a 1.57 % 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 the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,507,745. This represents a 35.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,889 shares of company stock valued at $1,130,955. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CF Industries Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of CF stock opened at $79.62 on Wednesday. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.13 and a fifty-two week high of $98.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $81.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 3.08.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. CF Industries had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 15.50%. Equities research analysts predict that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. 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 presently 29.54%.

CF Industries Company 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.