Hsbc Global Res Upgrades Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) to Strong-Buy

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) was upgraded by stock analysts at Hsbc Global Res to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on SQM. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $50.00 target price (down from $53.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Monday, October 6th. UBS Group set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 price target (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup cut Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.68.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SQM opened at $80.09 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 12 month low of $29.36 and a 12 month high of $83.60. The company has a market capitalization of $22.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.76 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $67.26 and its 200 day moving average is $51.60.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.06). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 12.12% and a return on equity of 9.79%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 4th quarter valued at about $224,000. Perpetual Ltd grew its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 103,127 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,095,000 after buying an additional 23,740 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,669 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Pictet & Cie SA raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 25,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,720,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA (NYSE: SQM) is a leading global producer of specialty chemicals and minerals headquartered in Santiago, Chile. The company focuses on the extraction and processing of key inputs for the agricultural, industrial and high‐tech sectors. Its core business activities include the mining of lithium, potassium and iodine, as well as the manufacture of value‐added products derived from these raw materials.

SQM’s product portfolio spans lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide used in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems; potassium chloride and potassium nitrate fertilizers designed for precision agriculture; and iodine and its derivatives for pharmaceutical, food and electronics applications.