UPDATE: National Bank Financial Upgrades Agrium to Sector Perform, Raises PT on More Balanced Cyclic Risk

In a report published Thursday, National Bank Financial analyst Robert B. Winslow upgraded the rating on

from Underperform to Sector Perform, and raised the price target from $83.00 to $84.00. In the report, National Bank Financial noted, “Q2 sales and EPS beat our estimates as Retail strength offset Wholesale weakness. Total Q2 sales were $7.02 bln, up 2.7% y/y and above our $6.80 bln estimate; Thomson ONE consensus was $6.95 bln. EPS (adj.) was $4.94, above our $4.80 estimate and meeting Thomson ONE consensus, but falling short of $5.47 (adj) in Q2/F12. We believe the cooler/wetter N.A. spring pushed some Q1 fieldwork into Q2, offsetting falling fertilizer prices.” Agrium closed on Wednesday at $83.05.