
Fertilizer producers Nutrien (NYSE:NTR), Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) and CF Industries (NYSE:CF) are Buys and their shares are poised to continue to move higher, Bank of America believes, saying China is set to extend export restrictions on domestic fertilizers through mid-2023.
The initial limits were implemented in October 2021 as a way to bolster China's agriculture industry, and were set to be lifted in 2022, but BofA analyst Steve Byrne says Chinese fertilizer prices are now higher than when the export ban was implemented, adding that the government actually has increased its clampdown on exports due to illegal cargoes detected.
Byrne sees the extended restrictions as "incrementally positive" for fertilizer prices as well as fertilizer stocks, prompting his reiteration of Buy ratings for Nutrien (NTR), Mosaic (MOS) and CF Industries (CF), with respective price targets of $134, $85 and $122.
CF Industries (CF), the world's largest nitrogen fertilizer company, recently predicted the product will remain expensive for at least two more years.