Syntax Research Inc. Sells 2,002 Shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Syntax Research Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,834 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,002 shares during the period. Nutrien comprises approximately 2.0% of Syntax Research Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Syntax Research Inc.’s holdings in Nutrien were worth $2,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Nutrien by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,778,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $885,009,000 after acquiring an additional 325,210 shares during the period. Silchester International Investors LLP boosted its holdings in Nutrien by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Silchester International Investors LLP now owns 11,693,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $523,268,000 after buying an additional 1,009,895 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nutrien by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 9,529,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,436,000 after buying an additional 77,174 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in Nutrien by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,043,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,396,000 after buying an additional 1,236,671 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Nutrien by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,232,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,380,000 after buying an additional 165,582 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NTR. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Nutrien from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Nutrien from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Nutrien from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Nutrien in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Nutrien in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $53.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.13.

Nutrien Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE NTR opened at $52.48 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $51.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.84. 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 $25.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.81. Nutrien Ltd. has a 12-month low of $43.70 and a 12-month high of $60.87.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.09 billion. Nutrien had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 6.81%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nutrien Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. Nutrien’s payout ratio is 159.12%.

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.