Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (SQM) – What Are Investment Firms Thinking About This Stock?

Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $80.11.

Several research firms have recently commented on SQM. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 25th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $93.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $88.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 1st quarter valued at about $50,183,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 602.0% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 502,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,671,000 after buying an additional 430,900 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 35.5% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,337,746 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $86,780,000 after buying an additional 350,573 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $21,297,000. Finally, ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 87.1% in the 1st quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 265,677 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,504,000 after acquiring an additional 123,700 shares in the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

NYSE:SQM opened at $54.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $64.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.48. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a one year low of $51.29 and a one year high of $98.00. The stock has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.10.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.28. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 20.62% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 136.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post 7.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a $1.4350 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s dividend payout ratio is 34.85%.

About Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile, known as SQM, is a Chilean mining and chemical company that produces lithium and lithium derivatives, iodine, potassium nitrate, specialty plant nutrients and other industrial chemicals. Its products serve industries including energy storage, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing. The company’s operations are centered in northern Chile, including the Atacama Desert, where it extracts minerals and other resources from salt flats and mineral deposits. SQM sells its products to customers in Chile and international markets.