Bridgewater Associates LP Acquires 17,657 Shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 499.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,194 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,657 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $1,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in CF Industries by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in shares of CF Industries by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,805 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of CF Industries by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in CF Industries by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,050 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in CF Industries by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of CF stock opened at $74.90 on Friday. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.34 and a fifty-two week high of $98.25. The company has a market capitalization of $12.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.06, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $76.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.01.

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

CF Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. CF Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. BNP Paribas raised shares of CF Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Scotiabank raised CF Industries from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $81.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on CF Industries from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on CF Industries from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CF Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.86.

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.