Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Shares Down 4.6% – Time to Sell?

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM)’s stock price fell 4.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $59.97 and last traded at $60.1480. 1,381,584 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 1,345,603 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.06.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on SQM. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Thursday. Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (down previously from $53.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $36.50 to $43.50 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Scotiabank restated 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.81.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $17.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.95 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQM. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 61,700.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 153.0% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 969 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company Profile

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.