Will Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Beat These Analyst Estimates?

Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile (NYSE: SQM  ) is expected to report Q4 earnings on March 5. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile's revenues will expand 8.0% and EPS will contract -1.7%.

The average estimate for revenue is $582.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.59.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile notched revenue of $615.3 million. GAAP reported sales were 7.1% higher than the prior-year quarter's $574.7 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, EPS came in at $0.63. GAAP EPS of $0.63 for Q3 were 17% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.54 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 42.6%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 37.1%, 150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 26.8%, 190 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $2.47 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.60.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,417 members out of 1,445 rating the stock outperform, and 28 members rating it underperform. Among 259 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 253 give Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile a green thumbs-up, and six give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile is outperform, with an average price target of $63.02.

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