NTR price target cut at RBC

Following the company’s fourth quarter results, RBC analyst Andrew Wong remains bullish on Nutrien (Nutrien Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts, Financials NASDAQ:NTR), if only a little less so.

On February 21, Nutrien reported its Q4 and fiscal 2023 results. In the fourth quarter, the company posted Adjusted EBITDA of $1.08-billion on sales of $5.67-billion, a topline that was down 25 per cent over the same period last year.

“We saw a continuation of strong fertilizer market fundamentals in North America during the fourth quarter driven by improved affordability, an extended fall application season and low channel inventories,” CEO Ken Seitz said. “Utilizing the strengths of our integrated business, we achieved record fourth quarter potash deliveries, increased crop nutrient sales volumes across our global retail network and generated strong cash flow from operations. Nutrien’s president and chief executive officer. As we look ahead to 2024, we expect to deliver higher fertilizer sales volumes and retail earnings, supported by increased crop input market stability and demand. We continue to prioritize strategic initiatives that enhance our capability to serve growers in our core markets, maintain the low-cost position and reliability of our assets, and position the company for growth.”

As reported by The Globe and Mail, Wong February 23 maintained his “Outperform” rating on NTR, but lowered his target on the stock from (US) $75.00 to $70.00.

“Global potash markets have started the year mixed, with North America continuing strong trends from Q4 while international markets continued to soften, but we think there is limited downside from here given marginal cost support for international prices and favourable affordability,” Wong wrote. “For 2024, we trim our realized prices to $245 per ton, from $271 per ton, to reflect a soft start to the year, but we maintain our sales volume forecast of 13Mt, relatively flat vs. 2023 volumes. Longer-term, we continue to see the potash market as balanced, with new supply paced by steady demand growth.”