Spinoff potential

Article Excerpt

AGRIUM INC. $102 (Toronto symbol AGU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 158.0 million; Market cap: $16.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend yield: 1.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.agrium.com) has gained 30% since May 2012. That’s partly due to pressure from activist investor Jana Partners LLC, which owns roughly 4% of Agrium’s stock. Jana wants Agrium to spin off its retail business as a separate company. This division has 872 stores in North America, South America and Australia that sell seed, fertilizer and other products to farmers. They also supply two-thirds of Agrium’s revenue and half of its earnings. Jana feels the spinoff, combined with cost cuts at the retail division, could potentially unlock $50 a share of value. Agrium disputes these figures and feels that the steady revenue streams from the retail business cut its exposure to volatile fertilizer prices, as well as its overall risk. As well, partly in response to Jana’s demands, Agrium is spending $900 million to repurchase 6%…