Guardian Capital LP Acquires 132,169 Shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Guardian Capital LP increased its position in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR - Free Report) by 43.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 439,179 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 132,169 shares during the period. Guardian Capital LP owned approximately 0.09% of Nutrien worth $19,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NTR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Nutrien during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $241,958,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Nutrien by 159.5% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,435,627 shares of the company's stock worth $242,976,000 after acquiring an additional 3,341,169 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in Nutrien by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,043,590 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236,671 shares in the last quarter. Silchester International Investors LLP increased its stake in shares of Nutrien by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Silchester International Investors LLP now owns 11,693,137 shares of the company's stock worth $523,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Nutrien by 192.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 411,056 shares of the company's stock worth $18,395,000 after purchasing an additional 854,543 shares during the last quarter. 63.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nutrien Stock Performance

NYSE:NTR traded down $0.60 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $56.23. 688,860 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,114,528. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $51.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.79. Nutrien Ltd. has a 12 month low of $43.70 and a 12 month high of $60.87.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.09). Nutrien had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 2.62%. The business had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.09 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nutrien Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Nutrien's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 159.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Nutrien in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Nutrien from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nutrien in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $53.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Nutrien from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $40.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Nutrien presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.27.

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.