Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Stock Price Down 7.2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares dropped 7.2% to about $88.44 on Friday with ~1.41M shares traded (slightly below average); the company has a market cap of ~$25.39B and the stock sits above its 50‑day ($77.00) and 200‑day ($66.82) moving averages.
• Analyst views are mixed: the stock has an average "Hold" rating with an average target of $71.42, though some firms are bullish (JPMorgan raised its target to $93 and HSBC rates it "strong‑buy"); overall breakdown is 1 Strong Buy, 5 Buy, 7 Hold and 1 Sell.
• SQM declared a quarterly dividend of $1.0295 (annualized $4.12, yield 4.6%), but its dividend payout ratio is 130.24% and analysts expect -1.31 EPS for the current year, posing questions about dividend sustainability.

Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) were down 7.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $88.00 and last traded at $88.4370. Approximately 1,411,169 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 3% from the average daily volume of 1,462,081 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on SQM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $79.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Clarkson Capital reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.42.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Down 6.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $25.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.36 and a beta of 0.95. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $77.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 3.27 and a quick ratio of 2.25.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 9.69%. Equities research analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a $1.0295 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera's dividend payout ratio is presently 130.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 6.3% in the third quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,168,322 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $140,040,000 after purchasing an additional 187,767 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,106,810 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $144,949,000 after purchasing an additional 195,142 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,089,638 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $143,767,000 after purchasing an additional 413,246 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 4.7% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,529,281 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $65,729,000 after purchasing an additional 69,177 shares during the period. Finally, RWC Asset Advisors US LLC boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC now owns 1,462,794 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $100,640,000 after purchasing an additional 230,132 shares during the period. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company Profile

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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