Scotiabank Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Stock

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Scotiabank from $90.00 to $100.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector outperform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Scotiabank’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 38.77% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on SQM. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. HSBC upgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.63.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

SQM stock traded up $3.26 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $72.06. 435,929 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,551,257. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.28. 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 $20.58 billion, a PE ratio of 35.15 and a beta of 0.99. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 1 year low of $29.36 and a 1 year high of $86.13.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 12.85%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Compound Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 4th quarter worth $1,001,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,553,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 190.2% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 28,722 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after purchasing an additional 18,825 shares during the period. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.