Brokerages Set Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Price Target at $70.63

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.4167.

Several research firms recently commented on SQM. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group set a $79.00 price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

Shares of SQM stock opened at $82.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $75.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 3.27. The stock has a market cap of $23.61 billion, a PE ratio of 40.32 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 posted its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.69% and a net margin of 12.85%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders 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 dividend payout ratio is 5.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 138.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.