Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why
by Tristan Rich · The Markets DailySociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM – Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $83.65 and last traded at $83.3110, with a volume of 664635 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $81.81.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several brokerages recently commented on SQM. Clarkson Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group set a $79.00 price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $51.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.79.
Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The company has a market cap of $22.89 billion, a PE ratio of 45.81 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $67.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.81.
Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 12.12% and a return on equity of 9.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th were given a dividend of $0.1236 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 30th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s payout ratio is presently 6.56%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera
A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 138.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 5.6% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 6,354 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,669 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 153.0% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 969 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. 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.