Acadian Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Acadian Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) by 51.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,100 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Nutrien were worth $676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new stake in Nutrien during the second quarter worth approximately $1,233,000. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nutrien by 1.1% during the second quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 2,643,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,572,000 after purchasing an additional 28,291 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Nutrien by 1.8% in the second quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 70,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Nutrien by 34.0% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,066,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arnhold LLC increased its stake in Nutrien by 53.2% in the second quarter. Arnhold LLC now owns 93,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,737,000 after purchasing an additional 32,319 shares during the last quarter. 63.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nutrien Price Performance

NTR stock opened at $46.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $23.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.26. Nutrien Ltd. has a 1 year low of $44.65 and a 1 year high of $64.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.95.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $10.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.82 billion. Nutrien had a net margin of 2.97% and a return on equity of 6.91%. Nutrien’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Nutrien Ltd. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nutrien Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on NTR shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Nutrien from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Nutrien from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Nutrien from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. HSBC lowered shares of Nutrien from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Nutrien from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nutrien currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.39.

Nutrien Company Profile

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.