Brokerages Set Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) PT at $69.79

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.7917.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SQM shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Clarkson Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 138.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 6,354 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,669 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP lifted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 3,801 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

Sociedad Quimica y Minera stock opened at $70.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $20.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.74 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $72.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.93. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 1 year low of $29.36 and a 1 year high of $86.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 1.88.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th were issued a $0.1236 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 30th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.56%.

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.