Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Upgraded 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 Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

SQM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $93.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Citigroup raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $97.00 to $95.00 in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.12.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

Shares of SQM opened at $57.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a one year low of $43.35 and a one year high of $98.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.72.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The basic materials company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.28. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 20.62%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s revenue for the quarter was up 136.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were given a $1.4350 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SQM. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 35.5% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,337,746 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $86,780,000 after acquiring an additional 350,573 shares during the period. Amundi increased its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 15.0% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 640,499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $51,842,000 after purchasing an additional 83,738 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the first quarter worth about $50,183,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 602.0% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 502,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,671,000 after purchasing an additional 430,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ABN Amro Investment Solutions raised its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 87.1% during the 1st quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 265,677 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,504,000 after purchasing an additional 123,700 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA (NYSE: SQM), commonly known as SQM, is a Chilean chemical and mining company headquartered in Santiago. Founded in 1968, the company develops and produces specialty chemicals and plant nutrients from mineral resources in northern Chile.

SQM is one of the world’s major producers of lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, which are used in rechargeable batteries and other industrial applications. The company also produces iodine and iodine derivatives, potassium chloride, potassium sulfate, industrial chemicals, and specialty plant nutrition products.