Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.0833.

Several brokerages have weighed in on SQM. Zacks Research upgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Bank of America upped their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $36.50 to $43.50 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities began coverage on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of NYSE SQM opened at $45.91 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 1.93. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 1-year low of $29.36 and a 1-year high of $47.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.49 and a beta of 1.07.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.21). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 11.29% and a return on equity of 9.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SQM. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the fourth quarter worth $261,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 367.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 293,799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,683,000 after purchasing an additional 231,010 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 214,169 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,787,000 after purchasing an additional 62,121 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the fourth quarter worth $417,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. increased its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 151.2% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 16,644 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 10,018 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.