Brokerages Set Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) PT at $71.42

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $71.4167.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SQM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Clarkson Capital restated a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

NYSE:SQM opened at $85.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $78.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.34. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a fifty-two week low of $29.36 and a fifty-two week high of $95.46. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 3.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 9.69%. Analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a $1.0295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its holdings in 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 worth $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 25,279 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 14.7% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 4th quarter valued at $566,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 4th quarter worth $1,001,000. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.