Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) Short Interest Up 33.0% in March

Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 21,420,000 shares, a growth of 33.0% from the March 15th total of 16,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,460,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.7 days. Approximately 4.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Nutrien Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE NTR traded down $0.77 on Friday, reaching $52.50. 2,808,612 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,084,802. Nutrien has a 12 month low of $43.70 and a 12 month high of $60.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.26. The company has a market cap of $25.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.32, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.27.

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 company had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.09 billion. Nutrien had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 6.81%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nutrien will post 3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nutrien Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on NTR. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Nutrien in a report on Monday, February 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Nutrien to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Nutrien in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $53.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on Nutrien from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Nutrien from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nutrien

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Nutrien in the 4th quarter worth approximately $241,958,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Nutrien by 159.5% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,435,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,976,000 after buying an additional 3,341,169 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its stake in shares of Nutrien by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,043,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,396,000 after buying an additional 1,236,671 shares during the period. Silchester International Investors LLP raised 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 valued at $523,268,000 after buying an additional 1,009,895 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Nutrien by 192.7% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 411,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,395,000 after purchasing an additional 854,543 shares in the last quarter. 63.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.