Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) Trading 4.6% Higher

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)’s stock price shot up 4.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $42.44 and last traded at $42.08. 279,200 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,284,486 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SQM shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $54.50 to $46.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.78.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Trading Down 3.0 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a PE ratio of 29.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.14 and a beta of 1.05.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.72) by $2.52. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 30.74%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a $0.2134 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile’s payout ratio is 41.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQM. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 40.1% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,414 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 3.7% in the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toroso Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 0.5% during the third quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 64,071 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,823,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the period. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA produces and distributes specialty plant nutrients, iodine derivatives, lithium derivatives, potassium chloride and sulfate, industrial chemicals, and other products and services. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers.