Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $69.86, but opened at $73.02. Sociedad Quimica y Minera shares last traded at $73.13, with a volume of 188,154 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on SQM shares. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $100.00 price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Scotiabank raised 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 research report on Thursday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.50.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $82.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.50. The stock has a market cap of $21.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 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.

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

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $1.0295 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.98%.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQM. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 138.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other 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.