Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

by · The Cerbat Gem

Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR – Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 12,813,233 shares, a growth of 69.4% from the September 15th total of 7,565,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,675,716 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days. Approximately 2.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Nutrien Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:NTR traded up $1.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $71.25. The company had a trading volume of 2,682,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,052,802. Nutrien has a 1-year low of $53.03 and a 1-year high of $85.36. The stock has a market cap of $33.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $73.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.53.

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.70 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $10.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.44 billion. Nutrien had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Nutrien will post 4.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nutrien Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 29th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 29th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.53%.

Institutional Trading of Nutrien

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nutrien by 10.5% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,096,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,331,000 after buying an additional 578,470 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nutrien by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 453,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,963,000 after acquiring an additional 4,525 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Nutrien by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,859,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,653,000 after acquiring an additional 78,438 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Nutrien by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nutrien during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on NTR. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Nutrien from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Nutrien from $81.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Nutrien in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Nutrien from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.90.

Read Our Latest Research Report on NTR

About Nutrien

(Get Free Report)

Nutrien Ltd. is a Canada-based provider of crop inputs, services and solutions for agricultural producers. The company produces and distributes potash, nitrogen and phosphate products, which are used to support crop nutrition and agricultural productivity. Its product portfolio also includes crop protection products, seed, farm supplies and other agronomic inputs.

Nutrien serves farmers through a broad retail network operating primarily across North and South America, Australia and other international markets.

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