Covea Finance Boosts Holdings in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Covea Finance lifted its stake in shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR - Free Report) by 21.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,600 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Covea Finance's holdings in Nutrien were worth $2,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NTR. Silchester International Investors LLP boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Nutrien in the third quarter valued at approximately $150,181,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake 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 worth $719,668,000 after acquiring an additional 1,794,333 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,100,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board acquired a new position in Nutrien in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,176,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.10% of the company's stock.

Nutrien Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NTR traded up $0.39 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.08. 2,280,037 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,516,826. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.85. The stock has a market cap of $25.64 billion, a PE ratio of 34.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.81. Nutrien Ltd. has a twelve month low of $43.69 and a twelve month 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.

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

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Nutrien's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.21%. Nutrien's payout ratio is presently 144.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of Nutrien from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. CIBC restated an "outperformer" rating and set a $55.00 price target (down from $60.00) on shares of Nutrien in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 for the company. TD Securities lowered their target price on Nutrien from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised Nutrien from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $50.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.21.

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.