Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on SQM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Sociedad Quimica y Minera from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $105.00 to $93.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, CLSA upgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.27.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Up 4.7%

Sociedad Quimica y Minera stock opened at $82.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.98. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a twelve month low of $40.58 and a twelve month high of $98.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $72.99 and a 200-day moving average of $77.69.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 19th. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.28. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 20.62% and a return on equity of 19.08%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 136.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SQM. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 5.9% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,767 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 43.2% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 822 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $988,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 59.5% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.