Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $94.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $93.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $95.00 in a report on Thursday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.12.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Up 5.9%

Shares of SQM opened at $60.32 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.80. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 52-week low of $43.35 and a 52-week high of $98.00.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The basic materials company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 136.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were given a $1.4350 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 1st quarter worth $50,183,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 602.0% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 502,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,671,000 after purchasing an additional 430,900 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 35.5% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,337,746 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $86,780,000 after purchasing an additional 350,573 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the first quarter valued at $21,297,000. Finally, ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 87.1% during the first quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 265,677 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,504,000 after purchasing an additional 123,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA (NYSE: SQM), commonly known as SQM, is a Chilean chemical and mining company headquartered in Santiago. Founded in 1968, the company develops and produces specialty chemicals and plant nutrients from mineral resources in northern Chile.

SQM is one of the world’s major producers of lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, which are used in rechargeable batteries and other industrial applications. The company also produces iodine and iodine derivatives, potassium chloride, potassium sulfate, industrial chemicals, and specialty plant nutrition products.