Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $65.94 and last traded at $64.9640, with a volume of 1182673 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $61.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Nutrien from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho upped their price target on Nutrien from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Zacks Research downgraded Nutrien from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Nutrien in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nutrien in a report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.94.

Nutrien Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $59.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $31.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70 and a beta of 0.72.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.06. Nutrien had a return on equity of 7.54% and a net margin of 6.79%.The business had revenue of $5.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. Nutrien’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nutrien Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nutrien

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Nutrien in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Nutrien by 72.6% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Nutrien by 42.4% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 735 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Nutrien in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in Nutrien during the 2nd quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors own 63.10% of the company’s stock.

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.