Oppenheimer Begins Coverage on Nutrien (NYSE:NTR)

Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Nutrien (NYSE:NTR - Free Report) in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on NTR. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Nutrien in a report on Friday, September 20th. CIBC reissued an "outperformer" rating and set a $55.00 price objective (down previously from $60.00) on shares of Nutrien in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their target price on Nutrien from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Nutrien from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, TD Securities reduced their price objective on Nutrien from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nutrien currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.95.

Nutrien Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE NTR traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $47.93. 2,382,964 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,960,824. The company's fifty day moving average is $47.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.27. Nutrien has a fifty-two week low of $44.65 and a fifty-two week high of $60.87. The stock has a market cap of $23.67 billion, a PE ratio of 32.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.80.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.39 EPS 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 company had revenue of $5.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Nutrien will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.939 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Nutrien's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nutrien's dividend payout ratio is 144.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nutrien

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Nutrien during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Nutrien during the second quarter worth $32,000. Andra AP fonden bought a new position in shares of Nutrien during the second quarter valued at $51,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nutrien in the 2nd quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Nutrien in the 2nd quarter worth about $52,000. 63.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nutrien Company 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.