Natixis Advisors LLC Raises Position in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,519 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,832 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nutrien were worth $1,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Nutrien during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nutrien in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in shares of Nutrien by 50.0% in the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 900 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden acquired a new position in Nutrien during the second quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Nutrien during the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. 63.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nutrien Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE NTR opened at $46.81 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $48.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.03. Nutrien Ltd. has a 52-week low of $44.65 and a 52-week high of $60.87. The firm has a market cap of $23.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.42, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.82.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. Nutrien’s quarterly revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.939 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Nutrien’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio is currently 144.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on NTR. UBS Group lowered shares of Nutrien from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Securities reduced their price objective on Nutrien from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Nutrien from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $62.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. HSBC downgraded Nutrien from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Nutrien from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nutrien currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.33.

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.