Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) Shares Gap Up to $44.14

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $44.14, but opened at $45.79. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile shares last traded at $46.63, with a volume of 238,518 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.18.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Up 7.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $13.49 billion, a PE ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $47.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.31.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.51). Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 37.86%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.03 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2134 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile's dividend payout ratio is 18.30%.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the third quarter valued at $9,794,000. abrdn plc boosted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 4.7% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 2,643,076 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $157,712,000 after purchasing an additional 119,695 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 20.9% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 73,776 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,402,000 after purchasing an additional 12,759 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,992,151 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $120,387,000 after purchasing an additional 172,908 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. boosted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 98.2% during the third quarter. Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. now owns 153,080 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,134,000 after purchasing an additional 75,849 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company's stock.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA produces and distributes specialty plant nutrients, iodine derivatives, lithium derivatives, potassium chloride and sulfate, industrial chemicals, and other products and services. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers.