Ameriprise Financial Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Nutrien Ltd. $NTR

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Nutrien Ltd. by 18.6% during the first quarter, now holding about $77 million in shares.
• Nutrien reported a $2.65 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.41, although revenue fell slightly short of estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.545 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.7%, with the payout scheduled for October 17th.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR - Free Report) by 18.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,556,183 shares of the company's stock after selling 354,637 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.32% of Nutrien worth $77,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Nutrien by 184.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,243 shares of the company's stock worth $608,000 after buying an additional 7,934 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Nutrien by 27.6% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,627 shares of the company's stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nutrien in the 1st quarter worth approximately $517,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Nutrien by 163.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Nutrien by 4,866.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the period. 63.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nutrien Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NTR stock opened at $58.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.81. Nutrien Ltd. has a 52-week low of $43.69 and a 52-week high of $65.08. The business's fifty day moving average is $59.05 and its 200 day moving average is $55.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.33.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $10.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.40 billion. Nutrien had a return on equity of 6.51% and a net margin of 5.25%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nutrien Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 29th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Nutrien's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on NTR. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nutrien from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Nutrien from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $66.00 target price (up previously from $63.00) on shares of Nutrien in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Nutrien from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Nutrien from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nutrien has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.65.

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.

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