Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s (SQM) “Neutral” Rating Reiterated at Clarkson Capital

Clarkson Capital reissued their neutral rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $90.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Friday, October 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Rothschild Redb upgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.79.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SQM opened at $85.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $69.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.43 billion, a PE ratio of 46.73 and a beta of 0.98. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 52 week low of $29.36 and a 52 week high of $86.00.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.62 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.79% and a net margin of 12.12%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. Analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th were issued a dividend of $0.1236 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 30th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s payout ratio is currently 6.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 71.3% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the fourth quarter worth $306,000. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 86.6% in the fourth quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 24,430 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after acquiring an additional 11,341 shares during the period. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the fourth quarter valued at about $319,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

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.