Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $65.18.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 4th. TheStreet downgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Performance

Shares of SQM opened at $44.79 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $47.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.64. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has a 52-week low of $38.50 and a 52-week high of $81.50. The firm has a market cap of $12.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.51). The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 37.86%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.03 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 688.4% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,006,607 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,618,000 after buying an additional 878,933 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 354.2% in the third quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 824,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,211,000 after purchasing an additional 643,142 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 127.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,070,851 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $63,898,000 after purchasing an additional 599,728 shares during the period. Prudential PLC bought a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the fourth quarter valued at $30,572,000. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 37.2% in the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 1,747,264 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $104,259,000 after acquiring an additional 474,000 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.