The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) Price Target to $46.50

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $54.50 to $46.50 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the basic materials company's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's target price points to a potential upside of 3.83% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on SQM. StockNews.com downgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $62.80 in a report on Monday, April 8th. TheStreet downgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a "b-" rating to a "c" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.18.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Price Performance

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile stock traded up $0.79 on Tuesday, reaching $44.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,254,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,430,940. The company has a market cap of $12.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 1.07. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has a twelve month low of $38.50 and a twelve month high of $81.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.49. The business's fifty day moving average price is $47.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.64.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.51). The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a return on equity of 37.86% and a net margin of 26.95%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.03 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. abrdn plc boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 4.7% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 2,643,076 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $157,712,000 after buying an additional 119,695 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,992,151 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $120,387,000 after purchasing an additional 172,908 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 37.2% during the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 1,747,264 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $104,259,000 after purchasing an additional 474,000 shares during the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. boosted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 5.3% during the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 1,523,519 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $90,908,000 after purchasing an additional 76,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 127.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,070,851 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $63,898,000 after purchasing an additional 599,728 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.