Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Trading Up 5.3% – Here’s Why

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) shot up 5.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $82.97 and last traded at $81.4570. 1,187,593 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 1,386,660 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on SQM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $79.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. HSBC raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.42.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $75.87 and a 200 day moving average of $63.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $23.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.32 and a beta of 0.99.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.69% and a net margin of 12.85%.The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 payout ratio is 5.85%.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Castle Hook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,257,000. RWC Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 369.9% in the third quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 1,113,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,871,000 after buying an additional 876,754 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 81.9% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,911,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $82,163,000 after acquiring an additional 860,984 shares in the last quarter. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC increased its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 112.4% during the third quarter. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC now owns 1,232,662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,980,000 after acquiring an additional 652,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 62.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,676,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,051,000 after acquiring an additional 644,129 shares during the period. 12.41% of the stock is owned by 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.