Nutrien (TSE:NTR) Downgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to “Hold”

Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Nutrien (TSE:NTR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has C$63.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of C$96.00.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group lowered shares of Nutrien from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Barclays upgraded shares of Nutrien from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. National Bank Financial raised Nutrien to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial upgraded Nutrien from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered Nutrien from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nutrien currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$74.33.

Nutrien Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NTR stock opened at C$94.27 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is C$93.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$96.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 55.44, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 1.24. Nutrien has a twelve month low of C$74.77 and a twelve month high of C$116.95. The company has a market capitalization of C$45.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.71.

Nutrien (TSE:NTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Nutrien had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 8.61%.The firm had revenue of C$8.41 billion during the quarter. As a group, research analysts predict that Nutrien will post 5.3416399 EPS for the current year.

Nutrien Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Nutrien’s dividend payout ratio is 44.50%.

Insider Activity at Nutrien

In related news, Director Kenneth Alvin Seitz bought 3,900 shares of Nutrien stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$94.52 per share, for a total transaction of C$368,628.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 47,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$4,490,928.76. This represents a 8.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Mark Thompson bought 279 shares of Nutrien stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of C$89.86 per share, with a total value of C$25,070.94. Following the purchase, the insider owned 37,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$3,357,798.62. This trade represents a 0.75% increase in their position. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 8,141 shares of company stock valued at $766,436. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Nutrien Company Profile

Nutrien is a leading global provider of crop inputs and services. We operate a world-class network of production, distribution and ag retail facilities that positions us to efficiently serve the needs of growers. We focus on creating long-term value by prioritizing investments that strengthen the advantages of our business across the ag value chain and by maintaining access to the resources and the relationships with stakeholders needed to achieve our goals.