Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Here's Why

Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $43.69 and last traded at $44.75, with a volume of 2058005 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NTR shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Nutrien in a research report on Friday, September 20th. TD Securities cut their price target on Nutrien from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. CIBC reaffirmed an "outperformer" rating and set a $55.00 price target (down from $60.00) on shares of Nutrien in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Nutrien in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Nutrien from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nutrien has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.95.

Nutrien Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $46.98 and a 200-day moving average of $48.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.939 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.39%. This is a boost from Nutrien's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nutrien's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 144.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nutrien

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Nutrien in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Andra AP fonden acquired a new position in Nutrien in the 2nd quarter valued at $51,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Nutrien during the 2nd quarter worth $52,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nutrien during the second quarter worth $72,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Nutrien by 1,370.6% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494 shares during the period. 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.