Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Given New $53.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) had its price objective hoisted by Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underperform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 32.08% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on SQM. UBS Group set a $79.00 target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Clarkson Capital reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.42.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:SQM opened at $78.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $22.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.03 and a beta of 0.99. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a one year low of $29.36 and a one year high of $86.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 3.27. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.37.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.11). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 9.69%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 138.4% in 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 during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $988,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.