Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup

Citigroup cut shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $74.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $51.00.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on SQM. Scotiabank restated a “sector outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $50.00 price objective (down previously from $53.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Friday, October 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Rothschild Redb raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sociedad Quimica y Minera presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.39.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SQM opened at $65.70 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.18. The company has a market cap of $18.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.90 and a beta of 0.99. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a twelve month low of $29.36 and a twelve month high of $66.18.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 51.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,341 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 5,873 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 573,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,784,000 after buying an additional 7,302 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 84.5% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 81,422 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,235,000 after buying an additional 37,300 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 55.9% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,915 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the first quarter valued at $417,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.