Appian Way Asset Management LP Takes $2.48 Million Position in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Appian Way Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 51,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,475,000. Nutrien makes up 0.6% of Appian Way Asset Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Nutrien during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nutrien during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in Nutrien by 50.0% in the second 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 last quarter. Andra AP fonden bought a new stake in Nutrien during the second quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Nutrien during the second quarter worth about $52,000. 63.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nutrien Price Performance

NTR opened at $46.69 on Friday. Nutrien Ltd. has a one year low of $44.65 and a one year high of $60.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.82.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 6.99%. The business had revenue of $5.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nutrien Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Nutrien’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.04%. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 144.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Nutrien from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Nutrien from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.