Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $66.58.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $62.80 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQM. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. CWM LLC raised its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 40.1% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 153.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of SQM stock opened at $45.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.74. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has a 1-year low of $38.50 and a 1-year high of $82.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $46.87 and a 200 day moving average of $49.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a PE ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 1.07.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.51). Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 37.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA produces and distributes specialty plant nutrients, iodine derivatives, lithium derivatives, potassium chloride and sulfate, industrial chemicals, and other products and services. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers.