Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

by · The Cerbat Gem

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM – Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $65.65 and last traded at $64.7230, with a volume of 710575 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $63.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SQM has been the subject of several research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Friday, October 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $36.50 to $43.50 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given 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 “Hold” and an average price target of $49.07.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on SQM

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.81. The stock has a market cap of $18.50 billion, a PE ratio of 38.78 and a beta of 1.14.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.06). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 11.29% and a return on equity of 9.09%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQM. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 6.3% during the third quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,168,322 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $140,040,000 after buying an additional 187,767 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the second quarter worth $67,759,000. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 81.9% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,911,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $82,163,000 after purchasing an additional 860,984 shares in the last quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 1,842,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $64,971,000 after purchasing an additional 318,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 62.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,676,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,051,000 after buying an additional 644,129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA operates as a mining company worldwide. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers under Ultrasol, Qrop, Speedfol, Allganic, Ultrasoline, ProP, and Prohydric brands. It also provides iodine and its derivatives for use in medical, agricultural, industrial, and human and animal nutrition products comprising x-ray contrast media, biocides, antiseptics and disinfectants, pharmaceutical intermediates, polarizing films for LCD and LED screens, chemicals, organic compounds, and pigments, as well as added to edible salt to prevent iodine deficiency disorders.

Featured Stories