Empirical Asset Management LLC Makes New $1.72 Million Investment in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 38,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,724,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Silchester International Investors LLP boosted its position in shares of Nutrien by 164.4% in the 3rd quarter. Silchester International Investors LLP now owns 10,683,242 shares of the company's stock worth $513,437,000 after buying an additional 6,642,075 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Nutrien during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $150,181,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Nutrien by 15.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,354,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $719,668,000 after acquiring an additional 1,794,333 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Nutrien by 78.8% during the third quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 2,495,282 shares of the company's stock worth $121,271,000 after buying an additional 1,100,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Nutrien during the 2nd quarter worth $38,176,000. 63.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Nutrien from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James raised Nutrien from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Nutrien from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group lowered Nutrien from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Nutrien from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.21.

Nutrien Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NTR stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,444,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,733,876. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $47.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Nutrien Ltd. has a one year low of $43.69 and a one year high of $60.87. The company has a market cap of $25.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.81.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.04). Nutrien had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 6.99%. The firm had revenue of $5.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. Nutrien's quarterly revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.939 per share. This is an increase from Nutrien's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.28%. Nutrien's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 144.97%.

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.