Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Upgraded to Buy at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $88.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $55.00.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on SQM. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 price objective (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Friday, October 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $51.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, December 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Quimica y Minera currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.41.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Up 4.1%

SQM opened at $80.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.22 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $64.22 and its 200-day moving average is $50.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 52-week low of $29.36 and a 52-week high of $81.60.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.06). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.79% and a net margin of 12.12%.The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect 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 disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 30th were paid 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

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 18.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 198,789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,898,000 after acquiring an additional 31,066 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 53.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 358,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,249,000 after buying an additional 125,506 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 6.5% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $823,000 after buying an additional 1,346 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the second quarter worth about $67,759,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 153.0% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 969 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.