AGRIUM INC. $76 - Toronto symbol AGU

AGRIUM INC. $76 (www.agrium.com) has raised its dividend for the first time since 1996. The new semi-annual payout of $0.225 U.S. a share, up 309.1% from $0.055 U.S., has an annualized yield of 0.6%. The company should also continue to benefit from rising crop and livestock prices, which give farmers more money to spend on seeds, fertilizers and other products that Agrium sells in its retail outlets. Buy.

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