Back to top

Image: Bigstock

SQM (SQM) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

SQM (SQM - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $97.54, moving +1.98% from the previous trading session. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.46%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.09%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 6.63%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the chemicals company had gained 19.8% over the past month. This has outpaced the Basic Materials sector's gain of 9.57% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.75% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from SQM as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect SQM to post earnings of $3.80 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 236.28%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $3.17 billion, up 192.8% from the prior-year quarter.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for SQM. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 5.7% lower within the past month. SQM is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Investors should also note SQM's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 6.43. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 6.4, so we one might conclude that SQM is trading at a premium comparatively.

Investors should also note that SQM has a PEG ratio of 0.44 right now. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Fertilizers was holding an average PEG ratio of 0.86 at yesterday's closing price.

The Fertilizers industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 243, putting it in the bottom 4% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow SQM in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (SQM) - free report >>

Published in