Nutrien Ltd. $NTR Stock Position Cut by Silchester International Investors LLP

Key Points

• Silchester International Investors LLP cut its stake in Nutrien Ltd. by 27.0% during the second quarter, selling over 2.8 million shares, though it remains the firm's largest holding.
• Nutrien's quarterly earnings report showed $2.65 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.24, despite revenue falling short of forecasts at $10.30 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.545 to be paid on October 17th, representing an annual yield of 3.8% and a payout ratio of 78.14%.

Silchester International Investors LLP lessened its stake in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR - Free Report) by 27.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,767,985 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,866,554 shares during the period. Nutrien accounts for approximately 97.2% of Silchester International Investors LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Silchester International Investors LLP owned about 1.59% of Nutrien worth $452,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 7,934 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Nutrien by 284.0% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 69,128 shares of the company's stock worth $3,430,000 after acquiring an additional 51,126 shares during the last quarter. Covea Finance grew its stake in shares of Nutrien by 16.5% during the second quarter. Covea Finance now owns 73,500 shares of the company's stock worth $4,265,000 after acquiring an additional 10,400 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Nutrien by 27.6% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,627 shares of the company's stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Nutrien by 1.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 736,996 shares of the company's stock worth $36,607,000 after acquiring an additional 7,194 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Nutrien from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Zacks Research downgraded Nutrien from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Nutrien in a report on Monday, July 14th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Nutrien from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Nutrien from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nutrien has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.39.

Nutrien Trading Down 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:NTR opened at $56.67 on Thursday. Nutrien Ltd. has a 12-month low of $43.69 and a 12-month high of $65.08. The company has a market capitalization of $27.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $57.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $10.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.40 billion. Nutrien had a return on equity of 6.51% and a net margin of 5.25%.The business's revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

Nutrien Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 29th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Nutrien's payout ratio is 78.14%.

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.

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