Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Upgraded at Hsbc Global Res

Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on SQM. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 target price (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Rothschild Redb raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup lowered Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group set a $79.00 target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.95.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of SQM stock opened at $81.75 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.67 and a beta of 0.98. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $67.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.81. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a twelve month low of $29.36 and a twelve month high of $83.60.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.62 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 company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 30th were paid a $0.1236 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 30th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.56%.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,432,000. RWC Asset Management LLP grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 369.9% in the 3rd quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 1,113,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,871,000 after acquiring an additional 876,754 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 81.9% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,911,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $82,163,000 after acquiring an additional 860,984 shares during the last quarter. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC raised its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 112.4% in the 3rd quarter. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC now owns 1,232,662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,980,000 after acquiring an additional 652,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 62.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,676,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,051,000 after purchasing an additional 644,129 shares during the period. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.