Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $58.95.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Nutrien in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Nutrien from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Raymond James raised Nutrien from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group cut Nutrien from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $66.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, CIBC reaffirmed an “outperformer” rating and issued a $55.00 price target (down from $60.00) on shares of Nutrien in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nutrien

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Nutrien in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Andra AP fonden bought a new stake in Nutrien in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Nutrien during the 2nd quarter valued at $52,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Nutrien during the 2nd quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nutrien by 1,370.6% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.10% of the company’s stock.

Nutrien Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NTR opened at $45.28 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $46.87 and its 200 day moving average is $48.05. The company has a market cap of $22.30 billion, a PE ratio of 30.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Nutrien has a 1 year low of $43.69 and a 1 year high of $60.87.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.04). Nutrien had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 6.99%. The business had revenue of $5.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. Nutrien’s quarterly revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nutrien will post 3.5 EPS for the current year.

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.939 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Nutrien’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.30%. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 144.97%.

About Nutrien

Nutrien Ltd. provides crop inputs and services. The company operates through four segments: Retail, Potash, Nitrogen, and Phosphate. The Retail segment distributes crop nutrients, crop protection products, seeds, and merchandise products. The Potash segment provides granular and standard potash products.