Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Boosts Stake in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Key Points

• Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in Nutrien Ltd. by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, owning 84,593 shares worth approximately $4.2 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Allworth Financial LP and GAMMA Investing LLC, significantly raised their holdings in Nutrien, reflecting growing interest in the company's stock.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Nutrien, with price targets ranging from $53 to $67, and an average target of $63.22, indicating mixed sentiment about its performance.

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its holdings in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,593 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,364 shares during the quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.'s holdings in Nutrien were worth $4,202,000 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. Blume Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nutrien by 0.7% during the first quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,796 shares of the company's stock worth $1,579,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nutrien by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co increased its holdings in Nutrien by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co now owns 16,296 shares of the company's stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Nutrien by 117.1% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 938 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cadence Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Nutrien by 4.1% during the first quarter. Cadence Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,873 shares of the company's stock worth $639,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. 63.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NTR. BNP Paribas upgraded Nutrien to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $66.00 price objective (up previously from $63.00) on shares of Nutrien in a report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Scotiabank lowered Nutrien from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $62.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Nutrien from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nutrien currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.22.

Nutrien Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NTR traded down $0.52 on Monday, reaching $59.57. The stock had a trading volume of 998,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,681,900. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.91. Nutrien Ltd. has a 12-month low of $43.69 and a 12-month high of $65.08.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.16 billion. Nutrien had a net margin of 2.05% and a return on equity of 6.08%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

Nutrien Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Nutrien's payout ratio is 203.74%.

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.