Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Buys 26,923 Shares of Nutrien Ltd. $NTR

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd significantly increased its stake in Nutrien Ltd. by 2,744.4%, acquiring nearly 27,904 shares worth approximately $1.39 million.
• Analyst ratings for Nutrien have improved, with Wall Street Zen upgrading the stock from "hold" to "strong-buy," while other firms have adjusted their price targets ranging from $62.00 to $64.00.
• Nutrien recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.545, with a dividend yield of 3.8%, reflecting a payout ratio of 78.14%.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lifted its stake in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR - Free Report) by 2,744.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,904 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,923 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Nutrien were worth $1,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NTR. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nutrien by 94.8% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 715 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Nutrien by 117.1% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 938 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Nutrien by 4,866.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Nutrien in the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Nutrien in the 1st quarter worth approximately $77,000. 63.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NTR. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Nutrien from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Nutrien from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Nutrien from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Nutrien from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Nutrien from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.65.

Nutrien Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NTR traded up $0.0340 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $57.0740. 399,378 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,252,451. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $59.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.81. 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 Ltd. has a one year low of $43.69 and a one year high of $65.08.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $10.30 billion for 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 company's revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 29th. Nutrien's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.14%.

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.