Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR - Free Report) by 25.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 142,879 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 29,190 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Nutrien were worth $7,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Nutrien during the fourth quarter worth approximately $241,958,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Nutrien by 159.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,435,627 shares of the company's stock worth $242,976,000 after buying an additional 3,341,169 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Nutrien by 192.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 411,056 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,395,000 after buying an additional 854,543 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Nutrien by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,105,057 shares of the company's stock worth $317,951,000 after acquiring an additional 721,935 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nutrien by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,022,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,202,000 after purchasing an additional 702,948 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.10% of the company's stock.

Nutrien Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NTR traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $58.44. 885,015 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,185,889. Nutrien Ltd. has a 12 month low of $43.70 and a 12 month high of $65.08. The company's 50 day moving average price is $59.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.46 billion, a PE ratio of 54.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Nutrien Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. Nutrien's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 203.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Nutrien from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank lowered Nutrien from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $62.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James Financial cut Nutrien from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $68.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Nutrien from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nutrien has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.78.

Nutrien Company 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.