Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• SQM shares fell 3.3%, opening at $76.10 compared with the prior close of $79.78, and last trading at $77.13.
• Analyst opinions remain mixed: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and a $79.90 target price, despite upgrades from Citigroup and CLSA and a higher target from Scotiabank.
• Recent quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $2.31 and revenue of $2.47 billion, up 136.7% year over year; the company also announced a $1.435-per-share special dividend.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $79.78, but opened at $76.10. Sociedad Quimica y Minera shares last traded at $77.13, with a volume of 157,867 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SQM shares. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $93.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. CLSA raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $97.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.90.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Down 3.3%

The firm has a market cap of $22.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50-day moving average is $73.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 2.01.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The basic materials company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.28. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 20.62% and a return on equity of 19.08%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 136.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.435 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,756,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the second quarter valued at $6,576,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the second quarter worth $8,869,000. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab increased its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 55,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 1st quarter valued at about $407,000. 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 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.

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