Metis Global Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 124,317 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 42,167 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Nutrien were worth $5,974,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTR. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Nutrien in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Nutrien in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in shares of Nutrien by 50.0% in the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Nutrien by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Andra AP fonden bought a new position in Nutrien during the second quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors own 63.10% of the company’s stock.

Nutrien Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NTR opened at $46.81 on Thursday. Nutrien Ltd. has a 52-week low of $44.65 and a 52-week high of $60.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.50. The company has a market capitalization of $23.12 billion, a PE ratio of 31.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.82.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.04). Nutrien had a return on equity of 6.99% and a net margin of 2.79%. The firm 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 business posted $0.35 earnings per share. Nutrien’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.65 EPS for the current year.

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.939 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.02%. This is an increase from Nutrien’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Nutrien’s payout ratio is 144.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Nutrien from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Nutrien from $66.00 to $59.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Hsbc Global Res cut Nutrien from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. TD Securities cut their price objective on Nutrien from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Nutrien from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.33.

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.