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

Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $53.3889.

SQM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup lowered shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday. Bank of America lifted their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $36.50 to $43.50 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

SQM opened at $65.70 on Monday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $52.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.90 and a beta of 0.99. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 12-month low of $29.36 and a 12-month high of $66.18.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.79% and a net margin of 12.12%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 61,700.0% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 617 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 153.0% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 969 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the third quarter worth about $62,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.