Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $74.5833.

SQM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SQM opened at $68.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $19.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.97. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 52-week low of $35.67 and a 52-week high of $98.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $75.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.75.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 16th. The basic materials company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 15.38% and a return on equity of 11.99%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,767 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 43.2% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 822 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 138.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $988,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA (NYSE: SQM) is a leading global producer of specialty chemicals and minerals headquartered in Santiago, Chile. The company focuses on the extraction and processing of key inputs for the agricultural, industrial and high‐tech sectors. Its core business activities include the mining of lithium, potassium and iodine, as well as the manufacture of value‐added products derived from these raw materials.

SQM’s product portfolio spans lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide used in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems; potassium chloride and potassium nitrate fertilizers designed for precision agriculture; and iodine and its derivatives for pharmaceutical, food and electronics applications.