There’s simply no way to sugarcoat it: The past few weeks have been tough on the market. And it’s times like these that test even the most seasoned investor.
The recession chatter is rising as the worst business environment in decades for banking and housing now also includes the airline and automotive businesses crippled by oil prices.
Due largely to a weak U.S. dollar, soaring commodity prices continue to weigh on the worldwide economy. The May Consumer Price Index just rose 0.6% due to soaring energy prices that are pushing up the prices for many goods and services.
Times are tough indeed.
That’s why as earnings season approaches, taking the time to cultivate your portfolio with companies that are that are profiting from the high cost of food and energy is a good idea.
Fertilizer Stocks: Home-Grown Profits
Recently, The Wall Street Journal reported that the price of fertilizer soared a whopping 65%. That may partially explain why food costs have soared since most of that cost is passed on to the consumers. Let’s take a look at three companies in the lucrative, but underappreciated, fertilizer business that will nurture your portfolio through the searing heat this summer.
• This top producer and marketer of fertilizers in North America, is also a leader in the production of nitrogen–the key ingredient in fertilizer. This company operates plants in…>Canada, the U.S. and Argentina with the capacity to produce more than 8 million tons of the nutrients per year. In addition to supplying wholesalers, it operates more than 400 fertilizer retail outlets. Last quarter, the company’s earnings soared $1.23 per share compared with a loss of 8 cents per share the year before. Sales rose 35.2% to $1.11 billion compared with $821 million. Wall Street was expecting first quarter earnings of 55 cents per share and sales of $1 billion, so when it posted a 123.6% earnings surprise and an 11% sales surprise, analysts sat up and took notice. The company has been benefiting from positive analyst upgrades and trades at barely 11 times this year’s earnings.
• This regional fertilizer company operates a network of manufacturing and distribution facilities, primarily in the Midwest. Before it began to trade publicly in 2005, the company had been owned by eight regional agricultural co-ops, including Land O’Lakes, Growmark and CHS. Fertilizer companies are prospering because farmers need to boost crop yields to meet the global demand for food. This Midwestern company is no different, benefiting from positive analyst upgrades and trading at less than nine times forecasted earnings.
• This company is seeing its business skyrocket in the U.S. to meet the growing demand for ethanol and is benefiting from the tragic Iowa floods that are expected to curtail U.S. corn production this year. The crop was already stressed due to the fact that farmers planted 7% less corn this year. As a result, corn prices hit record highs just this week. The only way for farmers to boost output is to use more fertilizer. On Wednesday, this company’s CEO said his company is poised for significant growth in the next five years as soaring grain prices give farmers the means to pay more for fertilizer. “We have a lot of pricing power. We’re nowhere near peak pricing,” he said.
Cultivate Your Portfolio
Across America this summer, the corn is already high and the fields green thanks to these three companies. Now is the perfect time to get in at the ground level with these companies. Is it time to bet the farm? You bet!
Get the names of my top fertilizer stocks in the July issue of Blue Chip Growth with your risk-free trial subscription!
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