Park Avenue Securities LLC Boosts Stake in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR – Get Rating) by 11.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,707 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Nutrien were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nutrien by 79.6% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,490,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,929,000 after buying an additional 1,547,030 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Nutrien during the 1st quarter valued at $1,370,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nutrien during the 1st quarter valued at $323,000. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. lifted its stake in shares of Nutrien by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 11,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,208,000 after buying an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its holdings in Nutrien by 55.2% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. 64.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nutrien Stock Up 3.4 %

NYSE NTR opened at $78.82 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nutrien Ltd. has a 52 week low of $67.41 and a 52 week high of $117.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.61, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $76.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.90.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 2nd. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.92 by ($1.41). The firm had revenue of $8.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.02 billion. Nutrien had a return on equity of 29.68% and a net margin of 20.60%. On average, analysts predict that Nutrien Ltd. will post 13.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Nutrien Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio is 13.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on NTR shares. Raymond James cut their target price on Nutrien from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Nutrien in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank lowered shares of Nutrien from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Nutrien from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.06.

About Nutrien

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Nutrien Ltd. provides crop inputs and services. It offers potash, nitrogen, phosphate, and sulfate products; and financial solutions. The company also distributes crop nutrients, crop protection products, seeds, and merchandise products through approximately 2,000 retail locations in the United States, Canada, South America, and Australia.