Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s (SQM) Neutral Rating Reaffirmed at Clarkson Capital

Clarkson Capital reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Clarkson Capital currently has a $90.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group set a $79.00 target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Rothschild Redb raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.79.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

Sociedad Quimica y Minera stock opened at $83.83 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.03. The company has a market capitalization of $23.37 billion, a PE ratio of 45.81 and a beta of 0.98. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a fifty-two week low of $29.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.19.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last issued 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders 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 (DPR) is currently 6.56%.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SQM. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 5.6% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 6,354 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,669 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 153.0% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 969 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. 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.