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Here's Why You Should Retain Nutrien Stock in Your Portfolio
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Key Takeaways
Nutrien posted record Q1 potash sales volumes and maintained its 2026 global shipment forecast.
NTR exceeded its $200 million annual cost savings target early and plans further efficiency gains in 2026.
NTR faces margin pressure from higher sulfur and ammonia costs amid supply constraints and tight markets.
Nutrien Ltd. (NTR - Free Report) is benefiting from favorable demand for crop nutrients, ongoing cost-reduction initiatives, strategic acquisitions and higher fertilizer prices. However, elevated input costs and supply constraints remain headwinds that could weigh on margins.
The NTR stock has gained 17.4% over the past year, compared with the Zacks Fertilizers industry’s 48.7% decline.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Let’s find out why NTR stock is worth retaining at the moment.
NTR Gains on Healthy Demand, Higher Prices & Cost Cuts
Nutrien is well-placed to benefit from higher demand for fertilizers, backed by the strength in global agriculture markets. It is seeing healthy fertilizer demand in its major markets. Tight inventories are expected to support crop commodity prices.
NTR saw record potash sales volumes in the first quarter of 2026, driven by low inventory levels and favorable potash affordability, especially in key offshore markets. The company maintained its global potash shipment forecast of 74-77 million tons for 2026 and sees relatively tight potash fundamentals through the year. It is also increasing production from its low-cost North American operations to meet rising demand.
Nutrien should also gain from acquisitions and increased adoption of its digital platform. It continues to expand its footprint in Brazil through acquisitions. It is expected to continue pursuing targeted opportunities in its core markets. The company expects to utilize part of its free cash flow for incremental growth investments, including tuck-in acquisitions in the retail business.
Cost and operational efficiency initiatives are also expected to aid the company’s performance. NTR remains focused on lowering the cost of production in the potash business. It has announced several strategic actions to reduce its controllable costs and boost free cash flow. It surpassed the $200 million annual cost savings target for 2025, achieving it a year earlier than its initial target. It expects sustained cost-reduction efforts across all geographies to aid margin improvement in 2026.
NTR has a strong balance sheet, enabling it to finance its strategic growth investment, pay down debt and drive shareholder value. It returned $409 million to its shareholders in the first quarter through dividends and share repurchases.
Higher Input Costs May Weigh on NTR's Margins
NTR remains exposed to a volatile input cost environment amid supply tightness. Nutrien uses sulfur, ammonia and natural gas as key inputs. Supply disruptions from Russia amid the war with Ukraine, exacerbated by the Middle East conflict, contributed to the rise in input prices. Plant shutdowns and maintenance also resulted in a tight supply of these inputs, which, coupled with strong demand, pushed up their prices. Tight global sulfur supply, higher benchmark sulfur prices and ongoing supply-chain constraints continued to increase phosphate production costs.
The company saw higher sulfur input costs in the first quarter, leading to a higher cost of goods sold per ton in the phosphate businesses, hurting margins. It expects further pressure on phosphate margins in the second quarter, resulting from higher sulfur and ammonia costs.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CSW’s current-year earnings stands at $12.52 per share, implying a 20.6% year-over-year increase. CSW’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with the average surprise being 3.8%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IDR’s current-year earnings is pegged at $1.52 per share, implying a 33.3% year-over-year increase. IDR’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with the average surprise being 68.7%.
The consensus estimate for Albemarle’s current-year earnings is pegged at $13.05 per share, indicating a 1,753.1% year-over-year increase. ALB’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with an average surprise of 54.1%.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
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Here's Why You Should Retain Nutrien Stock in Your Portfolio
Key Takeaways
Nutrien Ltd. (NTR - Free Report) is benefiting from favorable demand for crop nutrients, ongoing cost-reduction initiatives, strategic acquisitions and higher fertilizer prices. However, elevated input costs and supply constraints remain headwinds that could weigh on margins.
The NTR stock has gained 17.4% over the past year, compared with the Zacks Fertilizers industry’s 48.7% decline.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Let’s find out why NTR stock is worth retaining at the moment.
NTR Gains on Healthy Demand, Higher Prices & Cost Cuts
Nutrien is well-placed to benefit from higher demand for fertilizers, backed by the strength in global agriculture markets. It is seeing healthy fertilizer demand in its major markets. Tight inventories are expected to support crop commodity prices.
NTR saw record potash sales volumes in the first quarter of 2026, driven by low inventory levels and favorable potash affordability, especially in key offshore markets. The company maintained its global potash shipment forecast of 74-77 million tons for 2026 and sees relatively tight potash fundamentals through the year. It is also increasing production from its low-cost North American operations to meet rising demand.
Nutrien should also gain from acquisitions and increased adoption of its digital platform. It continues to expand its footprint in Brazil through acquisitions. It is expected to continue pursuing targeted opportunities in its core markets. The company expects to utilize part of its free cash flow for incremental growth investments, including tuck-in acquisitions in the retail business.
Cost and operational efficiency initiatives are also expected to aid the company’s performance. NTR remains focused on lowering the cost of production in the potash business. It has announced several strategic actions to reduce its controllable costs and boost free cash flow. It surpassed the $200 million annual cost savings target for 2025, achieving it a year earlier than its initial target. It expects sustained cost-reduction efforts across all geographies to aid margin improvement in 2026.
NTR has a strong balance sheet, enabling it to finance its strategic growth investment, pay down debt and drive shareholder value. It returned $409 million to its shareholders in the first quarter through dividends and share repurchases.
Higher Input Costs May Weigh on NTR's Margins
NTR remains exposed to a volatile input cost environment amid supply tightness. Nutrien uses sulfur, ammonia and natural gas as key inputs. Supply disruptions from Russia amid the war with Ukraine, exacerbated by the Middle East conflict, contributed to the rise in input prices. Plant shutdowns and maintenance also resulted in a tight supply of these inputs, which, coupled with strong demand, pushed up their prices. Tight global sulfur supply, higher benchmark sulfur prices and ongoing supply-chain constraints continued to increase phosphate production costs.
The company saw higher sulfur input costs in the first quarter, leading to a higher cost of goods sold per ton in the phosphate businesses, hurting margins. It expects further pressure on phosphate margins in the second quarter, resulting from higher sulfur and ammonia costs.
Nutrien Ltd. Price and Consensus
Nutrien Ltd. price-consensus-chart | Nutrien Ltd. Quote
NTR’s Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks
NTR currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are CSW Industrials, Inc. (CSW - Free Report) , Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. (IDR - Free Report) and Albemarle Corporation (ALB - Free Report) . While CSW and IDR carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), each, ALB is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CSW’s current-year earnings stands at $12.52 per share, implying a 20.6% year-over-year increase. CSW’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with the average surprise being 3.8%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IDR’s current-year earnings is pegged at $1.52 per share, implying a 33.3% year-over-year increase. IDR’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with the average surprise being 68.7%.
The consensus estimate for Albemarle’s current-year earnings is pegged at $13.05 per share, indicating a 1,753.1% year-over-year increase. ALB’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with an average surprise of 54.1%.