Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $69.7917.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SQM. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group set a $79.00 price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $79.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, December 12th.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE SQM opened at $76.51 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $75.19 and its 200 day moving average is $58.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.81 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.82. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 52 week low of $29.36 and a 52 week high of $86.13.

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 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%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV grew its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 118,007 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,162,000 after purchasing an additional 6,087 shares during the period. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the second quarter valued at about $1,678,000. Boston Common Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the third quarter worth about $2,767,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 2nd quarter worth about $776,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 33.4% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 71,429 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,070,000 after acquiring an additional 17,869 shares in the last quarter. 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.