Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $68.50 and last traded at $67.4980, with a volume of 257184 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $67.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nutrien from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Nutrien in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Nutrien in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $64.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Nutrien from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.71.

Nutrien Trading Up 2.3%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.00. The firm has a market cap of $33.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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

Nutrien Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Nutrien’s payout ratio is presently 58.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nutrien

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nutrien in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Nutrien by 72.6% during the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in shares of Nutrien by 133.0% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nutrien by 42.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 735 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Nutrien during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 63.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nutrien Company Profile

Nutrien Ltd. is a global fertilizer and agricultural-services company headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The company is publicly traded and operates across the farm input value chain, combining upstream fertilizer production with a broad retail and services platform aimed at supporting crop production worldwide. Nutrien’s business model integrates the manufacture and distribution of crop nutrients with on-the-ground agronomic support for growers and agricultural businesses.

Nutrien produces and supplies the three primary fertilizer nutrients—potash, nitrogen and phosphate—through its wholesale operations, and markets a wide range of crop inputs including seeds and crop protection products.