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

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) shares gapped up prior to trading 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 equities research analysts have commented on SQM shares. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sociedad Quimica y Minera currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.50.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $20.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.36.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last released its earnings results on Saturday, May 16th. The basic materials company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter. The company 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.0295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 138.4% in the fourth 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. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 43.2% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 822 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 59.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.