UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) Stock

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) had its price objective raised by UBS Group from $51.00 to $53.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

NTR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. CIBC reiterated an “outperformer” rating and issued a $55.00 target price (down previously from $60.00) on shares of Nutrien in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Nutrien from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Nutrien from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Nutrien in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.94.

Nutrien Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NTR stock opened at $52.48 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Nutrien has a fifty-two week low of $43.69 and a fifty-two week high of $60.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.00. The stock has a market cap of $25.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.81.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.04). Nutrien had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 6.99%. The business had revenue of $5.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Nutrien will post 3.5 EPS for the current year.

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.939 per share. This is a positive change from Nutrien’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio is currently 144.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nutrien

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Silchester International Investors LLP lifted its position in shares of Nutrien by 164.4% in the 3rd quarter. Silchester International Investors LLP now owns 10,683,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,437,000 after buying an additional 6,642,075 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Nutrien in the third quarter worth about $150,181,000. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its stake in Nutrien by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,043,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,396,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236,671 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Nutrien by 78.8% during the third quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 2,495,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of Nutrien by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,220,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,830,000 after purchasing an additional 447,413 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.10% of the company’s stock.

About Nutrien

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.