Townsend & Associates Inc Acquires 277,875 Shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Townsend & Associates Inc lifted its stake in shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR - Free Report) by 97.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 562,846 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 277,875 shares during the period. Nutrien accounts for about 2.7% of Townsend & Associates Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Townsend & Associates Inc owned 0.11% of Nutrien worth $26,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NTR. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Nutrien in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Nutrien in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in shares of Nutrien by 50.0% during the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 900 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Nutrien by 33.3% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 932 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Andra AP fonden acquired a new position in shares of Nutrien in the second quarter worth about $51,000. 63.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nutrien Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Nutrien stock traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $48.32. 2,325,769 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,951,724. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.26. Nutrien Ltd. has a 52 week low of $44.65 and a 52 week high of $60.87. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $47.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.61. The company has a market cap of $23.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.82.

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 company had revenue of $5.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. The business's revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.939 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.77%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Nutrien's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nutrien's payout ratio is 144.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut Nutrien from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $62.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. HSBC lowered shares of Nutrien from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Nutrien from $66.00 to $59.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Nutrien from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Nutrien from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.44.

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.