Nutrien lifts its potash forecast

Article Excerpt

NUTRIEN LTD. $64 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol NTR; Cyclical-Growth Payer Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 494.8 million; Market cap: $31.7 billion; Dividend yield: 4.5%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.nutrien.com) is the world’s largest producer of agricultural fertilizers. With the April 2024, payment, the company raised your quarterly dividend by 1.9%. Investors now receive $0.54 U.S. a share instead of $0.53 U.S. The new annual rate of $2.16 U.S. yields a high 4.5%. Partly due to new contracts with China and India, Nutrien expects 2024 potash sales volumes will range between 13.2 million tonnes and 13.8 million tonnes; that’s up from its previous forecast of 13.0 million tonnes to 13.8 million tonnes. At the same time, the company aims to cut $200 million U.S. from its annual costs by the end of 2026. The higher production and cost savings should give Nutrien more room to increase your dividend. The stock also trades at an attractive 12.5 times the company’s projected 2024 earnings of…