Short Interest in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) Declines By 17.4%

Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,410,000 shares, a drop of 17.4% from the November 15th total of 4,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Nutrien Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE NTR opened at $48.18 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $47.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.09. Nutrien has a fifty-two week low of $44.65 and a fifty-two week high of $60.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $23.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.80.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $5.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.26 billion. Nutrien had a return on equity of 6.99% and a net margin of 2.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nutrien will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.939 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Nutrien’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.80%. Nutrien’s payout ratio is 144.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NTR shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Nutrien from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Nutrien in a research report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group lowered shares of Nutrien from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $66.00 to $51.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Nutrien from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, CIBC reissued an “outperformer” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (down from $60.00) on shares of Nutrien in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nutrien presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.95.

Institutional Trading of Nutrien

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Nutrien in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Nutrien in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Andra AP fonden bought a new position in Nutrien in the second quarter worth about $51,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nutrien during the second quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Nutrien in the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. 63.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.