Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.37 EPS

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.37), FiscalAI reports. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.69% and a net margin of 12.85%.The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s quarterly revenue was up 69.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

NYSE:SQM opened at $84.14 on Thursday. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a one year low of $29.36 and a one year high of $98.00. The stock has a market cap of $24.03 billion, a PE ratio of 41.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $84.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.24.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $1.0295 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 129.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SQM shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of 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 report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.42.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Compound Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the fourth quarter worth $1,001,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the fourth quarter valued at $1,553,000. XTX Topco Ltd raised its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 190.2% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 28,722 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after purchasing an additional 18,825 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the fourth quarter valued at $828,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

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.