Fertilizer stocks remain cheap despite strong fertilizer markets.
While S&P 500 continues to trade near yearly lows, the upside trend in fertilizer stocks remains strong. This not surprising given the bullish sentiment in agricultural markets.
Nutrien has recently released its first-quarter earning report, missing analyst estimates on earnings. Nevertheless, earnings estimates continued to move higher.
Currently, analysts expect that Nutrien will report earnings of $15.89 per share in 2022 and $12.46 per share in 2023, so the stock is trading at roughly 8 forward P/E, which is cheap for the current market environment.
The bullish outlook for fertilizer markets and the increasing attractiveness of low-PE assets amid rising yields could provide more support to Nutrien stock and push it back to the yearly highs near the $117 level.
The recent quarterly report from Mosaic has also missed analyst estimates. The company reported revenue of $3.92 billion and adjusted earnings of $2.41 per share.
As in Nutrien’s case, earnings estimates continued to move higher. Mosaic is expected to report earnings of $13.61 per share in 2022 and $10.31 per share in 2023, so the stock is trading at just 6 forward P/E, which is extremely cheap.
It looks that the market is worried that fertilizer prices will pull back in the second half of the year, so traders are not ready to assign better valuation to Mosaic. However, the current valuation levels look too cheap, and there is enough room for multiple expansion, which could push the stock closer to its recent highs near the $80 level.
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Vladimir is an independent trader, with over 18 years of experience in the financial markets. His expertise spans a wide range of instruments like stocks, futures, forex, indices, and commodities, forecasting both long-term and short-term market movements.