Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Purchases 2,832 Shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,623,775 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,832 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Nutrien were worth $126,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Nutrien in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nutrien during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in shares of Nutrien by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden bought a new position in Nutrien in the second quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nutrien during the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 63.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on NTR shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Nutrien from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Nutrien from $66.00 to $59.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Nutrien in a report on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Nutrien from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Nutrien from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $51.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.33.

Nutrien Stock Up 0.1 %

Nutrien stock opened at $46.93 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.15. Nutrien Ltd. has a 1-year low of $44.65 and a 1-year high of $60.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last posted its 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). The firm had revenue of $5.35 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.56 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.939 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.00%. This is a boost from Nutrien’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.97%.

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.