Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Scotiabank Analyst Says

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Scotiabank from $80.00 to $90.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector outperform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price points to a potential upside of 15.30% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on SQM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $41.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed 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 report on Thursday, December 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Friday, October 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup cut Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sociedad Quimica y Minera presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.25.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

Shares of SQM stock traded up $3.66 during trading on Monday, reaching $78.06. 1,153,363 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,321,428. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a twelve month low of $29.36 and a twelve month high of $78.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $62.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.30 billion, a PE ratio of 42.66 and a beta of 0.98.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.79% and a net margin of 12.12%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 5.4% in the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 118,007 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,162,000 after buying an additional 6,087 shares during the period. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC bought a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,678,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $776,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 41.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 191,785 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,764,000 after acquiring an additional 56,137 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 46.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 184,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,522,000 after acquiring an additional 58,394 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.