Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (SQM) - What Are Investment Firms Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus on SQM, with six buy ratings, one strong buy, five holds and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $82.56.
• SQM recently reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.31 versus the $2.03 estimate and revenue of $2.47 billion, up 136.7% year over year.
• The stock opened at $63.96, well below its 52-week high of $98.00, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company. SQM also declared a special $1.435-per-share dividend.

Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $82.56.

SQM has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $93.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Citigroup upgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $97.00 to $95.00 in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $94.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SQM. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 5.9% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,767 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 43.2% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 822 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:SQM opened at $63.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's 50-day moving average is $72.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.16. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 1 year low of $40.58 and a 1 year high of $98.00.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The basic materials company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 20.62% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 136.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post 7.30 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.85%.

About Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA NYSE: SQM is a Chile-based mining and chemicals company that produces lithium, iodine, specialty plant nutrients and industrial chemicals. Its operations are primarily located in northern Chile, where the company extracts mineral resources from the Salar de Atacama and other deposits.

SQM is one of the world's significant producers of lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, which are used in rechargeable batteries, energy-storage systems, electric vehicles and other industrial applications.

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