Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $45.05, but opened at $42.66. Sociedad Quimica y Minera shares last traded at $43.47, with a volume of 417,650 shares trading hands.

The basic materials company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.21). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 13.45% and a return on equity of 11.71%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s quarterly revenue was down 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SQM has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $55.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Quimica y Minera currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.40.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SQM. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,759,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,154,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,832,000. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC acquired a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,170,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,432,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $12.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.38.

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.