RE:Analyst sentiment looks increasingly bullishYep, until recently, the analysts on RSI have always had a Hold/Market Perform rating on it, mainly because there was no growth. Before announcing its big maple syrup acquisition in July, RSI was a super boring, stable name with the overwhelming majority of its shares owned by Canadian retirees. Very few buy-side funds cared about the name so analysts would typically only write 4 reports a year, one for each quarter. :) If you're wondering why its covered by a handful of big bank analysts, it's because RSI has significant debt facilities with those banks. RSI never did deals or raised equity in the past so no small shops cover it.
I own it because it's boring, defensive, and pays a great dividend. If you're worried about NAFTA, don't be with RSI - the U.S. has always been insanely protective with its sugar industry and slaps on massive tarrifs on Cdn sugar crossing the border. RSI has a tiny annual quota of beet sugar it can sell into the U.S. each year (the big reason they keep the Taber beet plant operating) and that's it. It also exports a bit into Mexico (which could increase if NAFTA is ripped up), but the reality is that 95% of RSI's sugar sales are in Canada.