Nutrien Ltd. (NTR.TO)

This is the merger of Agrium and Potash. If the population is continually growing, someone has to feed them. The industry has been hurt recently, because China, Ukraine and Russia are cutting prices just to get rid of supply. When that supply disappears and demand catches up, they then have pricing power. In the meantime, it is just a matter of sitting back. $50 would be a good entry point. Earnings are going to be choppy over the next little while.

There is a long-term secular theme of population growth. Currently the population is 7.5 billion, and is forecast to be 10 billion by 2050. This pick is a result of a merger of Potash and Agrium. As we have more people and as consumers in the emerging markets get wealthier, there is an increasing demand for food. This merger is taking place when nutrients are near their lows. For the merged company to grow earnings and cash flow, they don't necessarily need an improvement in nutrient prices. The company has indicated they can realize $500 million in synergies for the next couple of years. Also, as an outcome of the merger, they are required to make some asset sales, which can generate about $5 billion in cash. They can redeploy that cash by buying back stock and increasing the dividend. They also want to increase their retail agriculture business. (Analysts' price target is $59.51.)

A fairly new company – POT-T and AGU-T merged. The global growth picture has been improving substantially. There is a lot of positive global demand but we have not seen the pricing pressures come through. He would hold and not buy a ton right here. US farmers’ incomes have bottomed and could turn around. He wants to see a few quarters go through.