Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 price target (up from $45.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price 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, January 21st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.42.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

NYSE:SQM opened at $79.08 on Monday. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a one year low of $29.36 and a one year high of $86.13. The stock has a market cap of $22.59 billion, a PE ratio of 38.58 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 3.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $75.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.49.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.69% and a net margin of 12.85%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders 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 is 5.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position 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 worth $7,898,000 after acquiring an additional 31,066 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 125,506 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 20,886 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 3,545 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 46.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 184,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,522,000 after purchasing an additional 58,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 22.7% during the 2nd quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 16,212 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. 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.