Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) Shares Up 4.5%

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)’s share price was up 4.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $50.39 and last traded at $49.64. Approximately 424,822 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 1,339,815 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SQM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $54.50 to $46.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. TheStreet downgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.18.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Trading Up 1.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.81. The company has a market capitalization of $13.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.75 and a beta of 1.10.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last released its 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 return on equity of 39.90% and a net margin of 26.95%. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.03 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post 2.34 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2134 per share. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile’s dividend payout ratio is 8.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the 3rd quarter worth about $9,794,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 20.9% in 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 in the last quarter. abrdn plc raised its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 2,643,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $157,712,000 after purchasing an additional 119,695 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,992,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $120,387,000 after buying an additional 172,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. boosted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 98.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. now owns 153,080 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,134,000 after buying an additional 75,849 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

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.