Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $59.75.

Several research firms recently commented on SQM. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (down from $53.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Monday, October 6th. UBS Group set a $79.00 target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $41.00 to $79.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Rothschild Redb raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 price target (up from $45.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Thursday, December 4th.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Down 1.3%

SQM stock opened at $74.14 on Friday. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 12-month low of $29.36 and a 12-month high of $75.79. The business’s 50-day moving average is $62.43 and its 200 day moving average is $48.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $21.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.51 and a beta of 0.98.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 12.12% and a return on equity of 9.79%. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 EPS 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 $0.1236 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 30th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 118,007 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,162,000 after purchasing an additional 6,087 shares during the period. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC acquired a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the second quarter worth $1,678,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the second quarter worth $776,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 41.4% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 191,785 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,764,000 after buying an additional 56,137 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 46.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 184,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,522,000 after buying an additional 58,394 shares during the period. 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) 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.