Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) Shares Sold by Ruffer LLP

Ruffer LLP lessened its stake in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 982,728 shares of the company’s stock after selling 148,590 shares during the quarter. Nutrien comprises 1.6% of Ruffer LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Ruffer LLP’s holdings in Nutrien were worth $43,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NTR. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Nutrien by 6.5% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Nutrien by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 23,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 3,157 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Nutrien by 217.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 2,396 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Nutrien by 25.7% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 97,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,692,000 after buying an additional 19,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsend & Associates Inc raised its position in shares of Nutrien by 97.5% in the third quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 562,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,887,000 after buying an additional 277,875 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.10% of the company’s stock.

Nutrien Price Performance

Shares of Nutrien stock opened at $51.03 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Nutrien Ltd. has a 1-year low of $43.70 and a 1-year high of $60.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.24, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.81.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.09). Nutrien had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 6.81%. The business had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.09 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Nutrien Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 159.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on NTR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Nutrien from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Nutrien in a report on Monday, February 24th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Nutrien in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nutrien currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.13.

About Nutrien

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.