Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Citigroup

Citigroup started coverage on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) in a report published on Tuesday, FlyOnTheWall reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

SQM has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a hold rating for the company. HSBC cut their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $134.00 to $90.50 in a research note on Thursday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a research note on Friday, May 19th. They set a sell rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $83.00 to $71.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $83.39.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of SQM stock opened at $58.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $16.61 billion, a PE ratio of 4.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.02. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has a 1 year low of $58.05 and a 1 year high of $114.71. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.62 by ($0.59). The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a net margin of 34.41% and a return on equity of 71.64%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.01 EPS. Research analysts predict that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile will post 11.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 1st were issued a dividend of $0.5119 per share. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 13th. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile’s payout ratio is 15.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Accel Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the first quarter worth $34,000. 14.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA produces and distributes specialty plant nutrients, iodine derivatives, lithium derivatives, potassium chloride and sulfate, industrial chemicals, and other products and services. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers.