Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) Lifted to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $62.80 price objective on the basic materials company's stock, up from their previous price objective of $52.00. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 26.03% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 1st. TheStreet lowered shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a "b-" rating to a "c" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $54.50 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 15th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.58.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Price Performance

Shares of SQM traded up $2.22 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $49.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,358,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,487,288. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $45.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.31. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has a 1-year low of $38.50 and a 1-year high of $83.67. 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 company has a market capitalization of $14.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 1.07.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 37.86%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.03 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SQM. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. CWM LLC grew 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 valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 153.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 825 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company's stock.

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.