Most Analysts Tilt Toward Nutrien; One Cites FBN, Potash Challenges

Wall Street analysts have been weighing in on the new Nutrien Ltd., the merged Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. and Agrium Inc., with some 10 giving the company a buy, 6 holds and only 1 with a sell, according to Bloomberg’s analysis. Forward share forecasts range from $50 to $68. The stock began trading Jan. 2 at $52.60 and closed Jan. 11 at $53.25.

The one naysayer was Bank of America analyst Steve Byrne, with an underperform and sell, with expectations of $50 per share, according to Bloomberg. He thinks Nutrien’s Retail segment will contribute a low-teens EV/EBITDA, citing the rapid expansion of new entrant Farmers Business Network (FBN). He also believes the Potash segment will suffer due to loosening supply/demand balance through 2020 and lower prices. However, he believes the stock could see several sources of upsides in medium-term from capital deployment, synergies and a rally in nitrogen prices.

Nutrien opted not to respond to Byrne’s assessments last week.