Analyst: Drought shouldn't hurt fertilizer demand
NEW YORK (AP) — Mosaic Co. and other fertilizer manufacturers shouldn't see demand fall off because of the devastating drought affecting crops across much of the Midwest, a Citi Research analyst said Monday.
Analyst P.J. Juvekar raised his rating on Mosaic to "Buy" from "Neutral," and the share price target to $66 from $62.
Juvekar also raised the share price target for CF Industries Holdings Inc. to $209 from $193 and the share price target for Agrium Inc. to $100 from $95.
In a research note to clients, Juvekar said he thinks investors are overestimating the possibility that demand will fall in North America because of the Midwest drought. Citi's research showed that fertilizer demand, on average, increased after droughts in 1983 and 1988.
"While it is possible that per acre application may fall, overall planted acres could increase in the U.S. and are very likely to increase in Latin America, providing a possibly bigger offset," the analyst wrote.
In morning trading shares of Mosaic fell 4 cents to $57.46, Agrium dropped $1.47 to $93.98 and CF Industries fell $2.32 to $200.45.
The losses were part of a broad decline in stocks, as investors continued to worry about the European debt crisis.
