Hold off on Potash Corp. for now

Article Excerpt

POTASH CORP. OF SASKATCHEWAN $39 (Toronto symbol POT; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 837.9 million; Market cap: $32.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.6; Dividend yield: 3.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.potashcorp.com) is up 10% since the start of 2014. That’s mainly because potash miners cut their output in response to the July 2013 breakup of a marketing alliance between producers in Russia and Belarus. These reductions have increased prices from their recent low of $310 U.S. a tonne to $350. Prices should remain steady, particularly because North American farmers will need more fertilizer to replenish their soil after last year’s record crops. However, the stock trades at a high 22.0 times the $1.65 U.S. a share the company will probably earn in 2014. Potash Corp. is still a hold. hold…