Natixis Boosts Stock Position in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Natixis increased its holdings in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR - Free Report) by 22.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,808 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 18,521 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in Nutrien were worth $4,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covea Finance boosted its position in shares of Nutrien by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Covea Finance now owns 55,600 shares of the company's stock worth $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nutrien by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,886,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,367,000 after buying an additional 144,025 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Nutrien by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,480,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,264,000 after buying an additional 80,382 shares in the last quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nutrien during the 4th quarter valued at $654,000. Finally, Abel Hall LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nutrien during the 4th quarter valued at $276,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NTR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Nutrien from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Nutrien from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on shares of Nutrien from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Nutrien from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Nutrien from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.27.

Nutrien Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NTR traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $54.02. 1,708,989 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,098,238. The company has a market capitalization of $26.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.43, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.77. Nutrien Ltd. has a 1 year low of $43.70 and a 1 year high of $60.87. The company's 50-day moving average is $51.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

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

Nutrien Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Nutrien's payout ratio is presently 159.12%.

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.