Korea Investment CORP Reduces Stake in Nutrien Ltd. $NTR

Korea Investment CORP cut its holdings in shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) by 45.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,555 shares of the company’s stock after selling 141,558 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Nutrien were worth $9,960,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nutrien in the third quarter worth $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Nutrien by 42.4% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nutrien in the first quarter valued at $54,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Nutrien by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 937 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Nutrien during the 2nd quarter worth about $56,000. 63.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nutrien Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of NTR opened at $79.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $38.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01 and a beta of 0.70. Nutrien Ltd. has a 12 month low of $45.78 and a 12 month high of $79.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $69.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.26 billion. Nutrien had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 8.43%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Nutrien’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NTR shares. Wall Street Zen cut Nutrien from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Nutrien from $64.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research downgraded Nutrien from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Nutrien from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.82.

Nutrien Company Profile

Nutrien Ltd. is a global fertilizer and agricultural-services company headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The company is publicly traded and operates across the farm input value chain, combining upstream fertilizer production with a broad retail and services platform aimed at supporting crop production worldwide. Nutrien’s business model integrates the manufacture and distribution of crop nutrients with on-the-ground agronomic support for growers and agricultural businesses.

Nutrien produces and supplies the three primary fertilizer nutrients—potash, nitrogen and phosphate—through its wholesale operations, and markets a wide range of crop inputs including seeds and crop protection products.