Analysts Set Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) PT at $75.50

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $75.50.

SQM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, CLSA raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

NYSE SQM opened at $73.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $81.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.72. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a twelve month low of $35.67 and a twelve month high of $98.00.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, May 16th. The basic materials company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 15.38%.The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post 7.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 7,083.3% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 289,701 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $19,931,000 after acquiring an additional 285,668 shares during the last quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 3rd quarter worth about $559,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 73.5% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 491,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,113,000 after acquiring an additional 208,147 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 649,528 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,688,000 after purchasing an additional 27,035 shares during the period. Finally, AIA Group Ltd bought a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,633,000. Hedge funds and other 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.