Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 75,328 Shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) by 39.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,430 shares of the company’s stock after selling 75,328 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Nutrien were worth $5,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Nutrien by 6.5% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Nutrien by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 23,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,222,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association raised its stake in Nutrien by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 17,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $909,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Nutrien by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. now owns 7,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in Nutrien by 2.0% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 14,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. 63.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nutrien Price Performance

Nutrien stock opened at $44.75 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $46.92 and a 200-day moving average of $48.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.80. 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 Ltd. has a 52 week low of $43.69 and a 52 week high of $60.87.

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

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.39%. This is a positive change from Nutrien’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nutrien’s payout ratio is currently 144.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NTR shares. CIBC restated an “outperformer” rating and set a $55.00 target price (down previously from $60.00) on shares of Nutrien in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Nutrien from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Nutrien in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group downgraded Nutrien from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $66.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Nutrien from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.95.

Nutrien 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.