Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $78.00 and last traded at $76.5510, with a volume of 296612 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SQM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Friday, October 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 price target (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Scotiabank restated a “sector outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Monday, November 24th. UBS Group set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Rothschild Redb raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.75.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

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 current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $22.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.37 and a beta of 0.98.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.06). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.79% and a net margin of 12.12%.The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th were given a dividend of $0.1236 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 30th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s payout ratio is 6.56%.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SQM. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 198,789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,898,000 after buying an additional 31,066 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 53.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 125,506 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the first quarter worth approximately $7,346,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346 shares during the period. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 2nd quarter valued at $67,759,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.