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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded SQM from “buy” to “strong-buy.” Across analysts, the stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $86.12.
• SQM’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with earnings of $2.31 per share versus the $2.03 consensus and revenue of $2.47 billion versus $2.24 billion expected. Revenue rose 136.7% year over year.
• The stock opened at $57.14, well below its 12-month high of $98.00, while SQM reported strong profitability, including an 18.20% return on equity and a 20.62% net margin.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Scotiabank raised 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 note on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $94.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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 note on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sociedad Quimica y Minera presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.12.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

SQM opened at $57.14 on Friday. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 12-month low of $43.35 and a 12-month high of $98.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $16.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.05. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $69.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.75.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 20.62%. Sociedad Quimica y Minera's quarterly revenue was up 136.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQM. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 5.9% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 65.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.41% of the company's stock.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company Profile

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.

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