Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $95.56 and last traded at $94.5880, with a volume of 659248 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $92.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SQM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Clarkson Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Quimica y Minera has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.42.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $26.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $80.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.68.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 9.69%. Analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $1.0295 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.85%.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SQM. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 198,789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,898,000 after purchasing an additional 31,066 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 53.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 358,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,249,000 after purchasing an additional 125,506 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 20.4% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 20,886 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 3,545 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 38.3% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 159,027 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,609,000 after acquiring an additional 44,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 3.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 124,575 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,394,000 after acquiring an additional 3,634 shares in the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Sociedad Quimica y Minera

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.