Metis Global Partners LLC Buys 42,167 Shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) by 51.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 124,317 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,167 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Nutrien were worth $5,974,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Nutrien during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Nutrien in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Nutrien by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 932 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Andra AP fonden acquired a new position in shares of Nutrien in the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. 63.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nutrien Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NTR opened at $46.81 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $47.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.50. Nutrien Ltd. has a 12-month low of $44.65 and a 12-month high of $60.87.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. Nutrien’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.939 dividend. This is a boost from Nutrien’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.02%. Nutrien’s payout ratio is presently 144.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NTR shares. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on Nutrien from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Nutrien in a report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Nutrien from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Nutrien from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.33.

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.