Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Given “Neutral” Rating at The Goldman Sachs Group

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. They currently have a $63.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 0.10% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on SQM. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $50.00 price objective (down from $53.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $36.50 to $43.50 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Itau BBA Securities began coverage on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Monday. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.81.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Down 2.0%

Sociedad Quimica y Minera stock opened at $63.07 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $50.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46 and a beta of 0.99. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 52 week low of $29.36 and a 52 week high of $65.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.82.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.06). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 12.12% and a return on equity of 9.79%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SQM. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 6.3% during the third quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,168,322 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $140,040,000 after buying an additional 187,767 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 2nd quarter worth $67,759,000. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 81.9% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,911,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $82,163,000 after purchasing an additional 860,984 shares during the last quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 1,842,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $64,971,000 after purchasing an additional 318,445 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 62.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,676,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,051,000 after buying an additional 644,129 shares during the last quarter. 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 operates as a mining company worldwide. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers under Ultrasol, Qrop, Speedfol, Allganic, Ultrasoline, ProP, and Prohydric brands. It also provides iodine and its derivatives for use in medical, agricultural, industrial, and human and animal nutrition products comprising x-ray contrast media, biocides, antiseptics and disinfectants, pharmaceutical intermediates, polarizing films for LCD and LED screens, chemicals, organic compounds, and pigments, as well as added to edible salt to prevent iodine deficiency disorders.