Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) Short Interest Up 33.0% in March

Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 21,420,000 shares, an increase of 33.0% from the March 15th total of 16,110,000 shares. Currently, 4.4% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,460,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.7 days.

Nutrien Stock Performance

NYSE:NTR traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $53.66. The stock had a trading volume of 2,817,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,094,066. Nutrien has a 12-month low of $43.70 and a 12-month high of $60.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.33. The stock has a market cap of $26.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.77.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.09 billion. Nutrien had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 6.81%. On average, research analysts forecast that Nutrien will post 3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nutrien Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. Nutrien's dividend payout ratio is currently 159.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on NTR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Nutrien from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho upped their target price on Nutrien from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Nutrien from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Nutrien to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Nutrien from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.27.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nutrien

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTR. Covea Finance grew its holdings in Nutrien by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Covea Finance now owns 55,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,485,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nutrien by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,886,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,367,000 after acquiring an additional 144,025 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Nutrien by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,480,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,264,000 after acquiring an additional 80,382 shares in the last quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nutrien during the 4th quarter worth approximately $654,000. Finally, Abel Hall LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nutrien during the 4th quarter valued at $276,000. 63.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.