Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Purchases 28,315 Shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) by 26.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 134,758 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,315 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Nutrien were worth $6,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NTR. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Nutrien by 16.3% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 34,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,659,000 after purchasing an additional 4,832 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in Nutrien by 9.9% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 4,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Nutrien by 2.6% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,955,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Nutrien by 10.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,742,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,812,000 after acquiring an additional 157,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its holdings in Nutrien by 7.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 30,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,482,000 after acquiring an additional 2,224 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.10% of the company’s stock.

Nutrien Price Performance

NYSE:NTR opened at $52.48 on Friday. Nutrien Ltd. has a 52 week low of $43.70 and a 52 week high of $60.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $25.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $51.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.82.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.09). Nutrien had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 6.81%. The business had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.09 billion. Equities analysts expect that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

Nutrien Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio is currently 159.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Nutrien from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays raised 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. Mizuho raised their price objective on Nutrien from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Nutrien in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Nutrien in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nutrien has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.13.

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.