Nutrien Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:NTR)

Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 10,919 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 261% compared to the typical volume of 3,028 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on NTR shares. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Nutrien in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock. National Bankshares began coverage on Nutrien in a research report on Friday, September 5th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho cut their price objective on Nutrien from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Nutrien from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Nutrien from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.94.

Nutrien Stock Down 0.7%

Nutrien stock traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $58.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 477,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,373,509. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.41. Nutrien has a 12 month low of $43.69 and a 12 month high of $65.08. The company has a market capitalization of $28.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.72.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $5.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.59 billion. Nutrien had a return on equity of 7.54% and a net margin of 6.79%.Nutrien’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nutrien will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Nutrien Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Nutrien’s payout ratio is currently 58.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTR. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Nutrien by 284.0% during the first 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. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nutrien during the 1st quarter worth $311,000. Covea Finance lifted its position in shares of Nutrien by 16.5% during the 2nd quarter. Covea Finance now owns 73,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,265,000 after buying an additional 10,400 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Nutrien by 1.0% in the first 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 buying an additional 7,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Nutrien by 20.2% in the second quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 69,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,051,000 after acquiring an additional 11,704 shares during the last quarter. 63.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.