Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at Itau BBA Securities

Key Points

• Itau BBA Securities has initiated coverage of Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM) with an "outperform" rating and a target price of $55.00, indicating a potential upside of 25.86% from its previous closing price.
• Despite mixed ratings from other analysts, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.08.
• Sociedad Quimica y Minera reported a quarterly earnings miss, with an EPS of $0.31, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.52, reflecting a year-over-year revenue decline of 19.4%.

Itau BBA Securities started coverage on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 price target on the basic materials company's stock. Itau BBA Securities' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 32.42% from the company's previous close.

SQM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $36.50 to $43.50 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sociedad Quimica y Minera currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.08.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

NYSE:SQM traded down $3.95 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $41.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,441,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,275,865. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a fifty-two week low of $29.36 and a fifty-two week high of $47.51. The firm's 50 day moving average is $41.17 and its 200-day moving average is $37.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 1.93. The firm has a market cap of $11.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.88 and a beta of 1.06.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.21). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 11.29%.The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. Sociedad Quimica y Minera's quarterly revenue was down 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 4th quarter valued at about $261,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 367.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 293,799 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,683,000 after acquiring an additional 231,010 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 214,169 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,787,000 after acquiring an additional 62,121 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 4th quarter valued at about $417,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 151.2% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 16,644 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 10,018 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company's stock.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera 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.