Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $69.86, but opened at $73.02. Sociedad Quimica y Minera shares last traded at $73.13, with a volume of 188,154 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. CLSA raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sociedad Quimica y Minera presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.50.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $20.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.76.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, May 16th. The basic materials company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 15.38% and a return on equity of 11.99%. Equities analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $1.0295 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.63%.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 7,083.3% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 289,701 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $19,931,000 after buying an additional 285,668 shares during the period. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $559,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 73.5% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 491,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,113,000 after acquiring an additional 208,147 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,633,000. Finally, Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the third quarter worth about $1,649,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

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.