Cerity Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Pacific Financial boosted its position in Nutrien by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 12,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Nutrien by 2.1% during the third quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 12,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Ruggaard & Associates LLC raised its position in Nutrien by 4.7% during the third quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC now owns 5,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co. raised its position in Nutrien by 0.7% during the third quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 50,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,100,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Finally, Meixler Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Nutrien by 8.7% in the third quarter. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. now owns 4,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.10% of the company’s stock.

Nutrien Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NTR opened at $52.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 1.17. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $53.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.15. Nutrien Ltd. has a 52 week low of $47.90 and a 52 week high of $70.07.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.35). Nutrien had a return on equity of 8.59% and a net margin of 4.33%. The company had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.54 dividend. This is a positive change from Nutrien’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Nutrien from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Raymond James cut Nutrien from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 12th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Nutrien in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $66.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Nutrien from $86.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, CIBC decreased their price target on Nutrien from $87.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.95.

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.