Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also commented on SQM. UBS Group set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $79.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Clarkson Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.63.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Down 0.3%

SQM opened at $70.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.36 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $75.24 and a 200-day moving average of $59.62. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 52 week low of $29.36 and a 52 week high of $86.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 3.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.11). 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, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 18.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 198,789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,898,000 after purchasing an additional 31,066 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 53.8% during 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 buying an additional 125,506 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 22.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 123,853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,368,000 after buying an additional 22,870 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings 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 worth $6,764,000 after buying an additional 56,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 2nd quarter worth about $776,000. Institutional investors 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.