It Gains Either Way

Article Excerpt

We’ve changed our view on Agrium Inc.  We still like Agrium’s long-term outlook, but it has gone up so much that we now see it as a hold, rather than our #1 choice as Resource Stock for 2007. IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $50 (Toronto symbol IMO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 929.2 million; Market cap: $46.5 billion; SI Rating: Average) is looking more attractive. Imperial is Canada’s largest integrated oil company. Imperial gets 70% of its revenue from refining crude oil into gasoline and other fuels, but just 30% of its profit. The remaining revenue and profit come from oil production. Production is set to make a bigger contribution, thanks to Imperial’s new oil sands projects. That increases Imperial’s risk, but it should improve its profits in the long term. The outlook for Imperial’s refining business is strong as well, partly due to a shortage of competition. Despite decades of rising crude oil production, the last new refinery in Canada opened in 1984. That’s…