Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Trading 5.3% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• SQM jumped 5.3% on Friday to about $81.46 (intraday high $82.97) on 1.19M shares traded, roughly 14% below its average session volume.
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with an average target of $71.42, but firms diverge — JPMorgan upgraded to "overweight" and lifted its target to $93 while HSBC upgraded to "strong-buy" and others remain neutral or downgraded.
• Recent results showed quarterly EPS of $0.64 and revenue of $1.32B (net margin 12.85%) and a market cap of about $23.5B, yet analysts on average forecast ‑1.31 EPS for the current year; the company also paid a small special dividend ($0.1236).

Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) traded up 5.3% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $82.97 and last traded at $81.4570. 1,187,593 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 1,386,660 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SQM. Citigroup cut Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $63.00 price target (up from $45.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. HSBC upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $79.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.42.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Up 6.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 3.27 and a quick ratio of 2.25. The company has a market cap of $23.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.08 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $75.77 and a 200-day moving average of $62.59.

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

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th were issued a $0.1236 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 30th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera's dividend payout ratio is presently 5.85%.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SQM. Boston Common Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the third quarter worth about $2,767,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 33.4% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 71,429 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 17,869 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 58.6% during the 3rd quarter. Peregrine Investment Management Inc. now owns 219,150 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,419,000 after purchasing an additional 80,970 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 3rd quarter valued at about $690,000. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 3rd quarter valued at about $729,000. 12.41% of the stock is 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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