StockNews.com Upgrades Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) to Sell

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on SQM. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $62.80 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $55.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. They set a “hold” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.06.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Performance

Shares of SQM stock traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $39.54. The stock had a trading volume of 981,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,174,762. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.47. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has a twelve month low of $32.24 and a twelve month high of $64.62. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a PE ratio of 359.45 and a beta of 1.03.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.24). Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 0.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile will post -0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the third quarter worth approximately $560,000. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the third quarter worth approximately $202,000. State Street Corp raised its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 8.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 265,545 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,068,000 after acquiring an additional 21,778 shares in the last quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP bought a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,213,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the third quarter valued at approximately $834,000. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile 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.