Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $59.39.

A number of analysts recently commented on NTR shares. Raymond James raised Nutrien from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. CIBC reiterated an “outperformer” rating and set a $55.00 price target (down previously from $60.00) on shares of Nutrien in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Securities cut their price target on Nutrien from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Nutrien from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Nutrien from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nutrien

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Nutrien by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 92,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,116,000 after purchasing an additional 5,420 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Nutrien by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 130,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,811,000 after acquiring an additional 34,500 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in Nutrien during the 4th quarter valued at $222,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Nutrien by 211.4% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 67,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,012,000 after acquiring an additional 45,700 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Nutrien by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 301,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,492,000 after acquiring an additional 94,554 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.10% of the company’s stock.

Nutrien Stock Performance

Shares of Nutrien stock opened at $52.68 on Monday. Nutrien has a one year low of $43.69 and a one year high of $60.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.45, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.25. 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 (NYSE:NTR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.09). Nutrien had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 6.81%. The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.09 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nutrien will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nutrien Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. Nutrien’s payout ratio is 157.67%.

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.