Metis Global Partners LLC Purchases 6,982 Shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,402 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Nutrien were worth $4,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTR. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Nutrien by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,757,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,227,000 after buying an additional 349,895 shares during the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nutrien during the fourth quarter worth $2,726,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nutrien during the fourth quarter valued at $645,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Nutrien by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 52,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,972,000 after acquiring an additional 2,992 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Nutrien in the 4th quarter worth $234,000. Institutional investors own 63.10% of the company’s stock.

Nutrien Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE NTR traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $54.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,521,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,963,525. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.70. The stock has a market cap of $26.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.89. Nutrien Ltd. has a 52-week low of $47.90 and a 52-week high of $69.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.36 billion. Nutrien had a net margin of 4.33% and a return on equity of 8.59%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. This is a positive change from Nutrien’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Nutrien’s payout ratio is 85.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NTR shares. HSBC reduced their price objective on Nutrien from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Nutrien from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $77.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Nutrien from $86.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Nutrien from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.25.

Nutrien 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.