Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) Sets New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $60.84 and last traded at $60.56, with a volume of 466573 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Nutrien from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Nutrien from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "outperformer" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered shares of Nutrien from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $62.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.44.

Nutrien Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock's fifty day moving average is $54.72 and its 200-day moving average is $51.27. The stock has a market cap of $29.38 billion, a PE ratio of 43.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.79.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.24). Nutrien had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 6.81%. The firm had revenue of $4.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

Nutrien Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Nutrien's payout ratio is currently 203.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nutrien in the 1st quarter valued at $54,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nutrien during the 1st quarter worth $311,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nutrien by 284.0% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 69,128 shares of the company's stock worth $3,430,000 after purchasing an additional 51,126 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in shares of Nutrien in the 1st quarter valued at about $516,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Nutrien by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 736,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,607,000 after purchasing an additional 7,194 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.10% of the company's stock.

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.