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

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $57.33.

SQM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $54.50 to $46.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $52.00 to $62.80 in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SQM. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 396.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 40.1% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 133.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of NYSE SQM opened at $35.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.34. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has a 52 week low of $34.63 and a 52 week high of $72.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.33, a PEG ratio of 258.69 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.04 and its 200 day moving average is $44.94.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.72) by $2.52. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a return on equity of 30.74% and a net margin of 6.25%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile will post 0.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.