ARGA Investment Management LP Sells 645,009 Shares of Nutrien Ltd. $NTR

Key Points

• ARGA sold 645,009 shares, cutting its Nutrien stake by 10.8% to 5,308,601 shares — about 1.10% of Nutrien and roughly 8.9% of ARGA’s portfolio (worth ~$327.6M).
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Hold with a $80.06 average price target; broker tallies show 10 Buys, 8 Holds and 2 Sells, with several recent target upgrades into the ~$80 range.
• Nutrien’s fundamentals include a $34.8B market cap and P/E of 15.5; it missed quarterly EPS ($0.83 vs. $0.87) but raised the quarterly dividend to $0.55 (annual $2.20, ~3.0% yield).

ARGA Investment Management LP lowered its stake in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR - Free Report) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,308,601 shares of the company's stock after selling 645,009 shares during the period. Nutrien makes up approximately 8.9% of ARGA Investment Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. ARGA Investment Management LP owned about 1.10% of Nutrien worth $327,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Smith Moore & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Nutrien by 2.2% in the third quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 7,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Nutrien by 4.0% in the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 4,986 shares of the company's stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nutrien by 27.7% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 937 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nutrien by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nutrien by 42.4% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 735 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on NTR shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Nutrien from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group lowered shares of Nutrien from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Nutrien from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Nutrien from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Nutrien from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $80.06.

Nutrien Stock Performance

NYSE:NTR opened at $72.33 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.31. Nutrien Ltd. has a twelve month low of $53.03 and a twelve month high of $85.36. The company has a market capitalization of $34.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.69.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.04). Nutrien had a net margin of 8.43% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The business had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Nutrien Ltd. will post 4.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This is an increase from Nutrien's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Nutrien's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.21%.

Nutrien Profile

Nutrien Ltd. is a global fertilizer and agricultural-services company headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The company is publicly traded and operates across the farm input value chain, combining upstream fertilizer production with a broad retail and services platform aimed at supporting crop production worldwide. Nutrien's business model integrates the manufacture and distribution of crop nutrients with on-the-ground agronomic support for growers and agricultural businesses.

Nutrien produces and supplies the three primary fertilizer nutrients—potash, nitrogen and phosphate—through its wholesale operations, and markets a wide range of crop inputs including seeds and crop protection products.

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