Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Stock Rating Raised to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $94.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $93.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.30.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera stock opened at $64.47 on Friday. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 1-year low of $40.58 and a 1-year high of $98.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $72.38 and a 200-day moving average of $77.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The company has a market capitalization of $18.42 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 1.05.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The basic materials company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.28. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 20.62% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 136.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were given a dividend of $1.4350 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s payout ratio is presently 34.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,854,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the second quarter valued at about $2,756,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 292.0% in the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 33,936 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after buying an additional 25,279 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 640,499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,842,000 after buying an additional 83,738 shares during the period. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 1st quarter valued at about $21,297,000. 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 Chile-based mining and chemicals company that produces lithium, iodine, specialty plant nutrients and industrial chemicals. Its operations are primarily located in northern Chile, where the company extracts mineral resources from the Salar de Atacama and other deposits.

SQM is one of the world’s significant producers of lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, which are used in rechargeable batteries, energy-storage systems, electric vehicles and other industrial applications.