Agrium, Cott, Genivar, Silver Wheaton: Canadian Equity Preview

By John Kipphoff

Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The following companies may have unusual price changes in Canadian trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses, and share prices are from yesterday's close in Toronto.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index fell 1.9 percent to 13,242.20.

Agrium Inc. (AGU CN): North America's third-largest fertilizer producer said second-quarter profit almost tripled to $636 million (C$664 million), or $4 a share, as record grain prices spurred demand. Agrium's per-share profit exceeded the average of analyst estimates for profit before one-time items by 28 percent, according to Bloomberg data. Agrium fell 7.8 percent to C$82.78.

Bell Aliant Regional Communications Income Fund (BA-U CN): The Halifax, Nova Scotia-based telecommunications company forecast fiscal 2008 revenue of C$3.24 billion to C$3.31 billion. Three analysts have an average estimate of C$3.35 billion, according to Bloomberg data. The shares rose 1.3 percent to C$26.90.

Cott Corp. (BCB CN): The biggest maker of private-label soft drinks was cut to ``sell'' from ``buy'' by UBS AG analyst Kaumil Gajrawala in New York, in a note to clients that cited the possibility of a decline in sales volume. The shares fell 5.4 percent to C$3.31.

Challenger Energy Corp. (CHQ CN): The company exploring for offshore oil and gas in Nova Scotia and Trinidad & Tobago was rated ``overweight'' in new coverage by analyst David Dudlyke at Thomas Weisel Partners in London. The shares fell 0.6 percent to C$5.17.

FNX Mining Co. (FNX CN): The nickel and copper mining company said John Lill resigned as chief executive officer and will be replaced by Executive Chairman Terry MacGibbon. The shares declined 8.5 percent to C$16.28.

Genivar Income Fund (GNV-U CN): The owner of an engineering and construction services company increased its annual dividend by 50 percent to C$1.50 a share yesterday.

Separately, Genivar was raised today to ``strong buy'' from ``outperform'' at Raymond James & Associates. The shares gained 0.8 percent to C$24.10.

Silver Wheaton Corp. (SLW CN): The re-seller of silver from other mines was raised to ``outperform'' from ``market perform'' at Raymond James. The shares dropped 16 percent to C$11 yesterday as silver prices slumped.

To contact the reporter on this story: John Kipphoff in Toronto at jkipphoff@bloomberg.net.