Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

SQM has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Citigroup upgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $97.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $94.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $93.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Quimica y Minera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.56.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SQM opened at $65.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.57, a PEG ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 1.05. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.43. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a one year low of $40.58 and a one year high of $98.00.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The basic materials company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.28. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 20.62%.The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 136.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 43.2% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 822 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 59.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $102,000. Finally, Arlington Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $214,000. 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 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.