Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $78.08 and last traded at $77.6470, with a volume of 3310615 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on NTR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Nutrien from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Nutrien from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Nutrien from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Nutrien from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Nutrien from $68.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nutrien currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.82.

Nutrien Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $38.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.93 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $69.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.17.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.26 billion. Nutrien had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 8.43%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Nutrien’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.78%.

Institutional Trading of Nutrien

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Nutrien by 310.7% in the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Nutrien in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Sfam LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nutrien during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Eastern Bank grew its holdings in Nutrien by 133.0% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in Nutrien by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 704 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. 63.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nutrien

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.