Aviso Financial Inc. Reduces Stake in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Aviso Financial Inc. trimmed its stake in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) by 48.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 69,307 shares of the company’s stock after selling 66,231 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in Nutrien were worth $3,100,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nutrien during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nutrien by 331.0% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nutrien by 1,437.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Nutrien during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Nutrien by 96.7% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. 63.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nutrien Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NTR opened at $50.10 on Friday. Nutrien Ltd. has a 52-week low of $43.70 and a 52-week high of $60.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $51.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.09 billion. Nutrien had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 2.62%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nutrien Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio is 159.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Nutrien from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Nutrien from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Nutrien from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nutrien in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “sell” rating and a $53.00 target price on the stock. Finally, CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.13.

Nutrien Company Profile

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.