citing transportant problems and natural gas prices . Allana gets the sun for free.

2014-05-09 07:15 ET - In the News

The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Raymond James analyst Steve Hansen downgraded Agrium ($100.41 (Canadian)) on account of its near-term outlook. The Globe's Darcy Keith, Jody White and Tim Shufelt write in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Hansen notes that Agrium's first quarter earnings per share of seven Canadian cents "beat" consensus estimates of five Canadian cents only after it cut guidance to "just above breakeven" due to a brutal winter, rail congestion and a nitrogen plant outage. He also foresees macro headwinds over the near term that will likely keep a lid on Agrium shares, including falling urea prices and elevated natural gas prices underpinned by historically low inventories. "While we continue to admire Agrium's long-term prospects, concerns over the firm's lacklustre second quarter guidance, second half 2014 macro outlook (i.e. lower nitrogen pricing, elevated gas) and protracted operational challenges together give us sufficient reason to temper our near-term forecasts and reduce our rating to market perform until better visibility emerges." Mr. Hansen lowered his rating to "market perform" from "outperform" and cut his target price to $100 (U.S.) from $106 (U.S.).