Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Earns Sell (D+) Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM) received a "sell (D+)" rating from Weiss Ratings, while other analysts have varied opinions, with some maintaining "hold" ratings and others issuing "underperform" or "outperform" ratings.
• The company's stock is currently priced at $44.60, representing a 2.8% increase, but recent earnings showed a miss on estimates, reporting $0.31 EPS against a consensus of $0.52.
• Institutional investors own 12.41% of SQM, with recent activity including significant purchases from firms like Kingstone Capital Partners.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d+)" rating reissued by stock analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on SQM. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (down previously from $53.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Monday. Bank of America boosted their target price on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on 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. Zacks Research upgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities assumed coverage on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Quimica y Minera currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.79.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of SQM traded up $1.21 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,383,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,078,923. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $43.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 2.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.71 and a beta of 1.08. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 1 year low of $29.36 and a 1 year high of $47.51.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the second quarter valued at approximately $67,759,000. Kopernik Global Investors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 20.9% in the second quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 1,842,113 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $64,971,000 after purchasing an additional 318,445 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 5.5% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,460,104 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $51,498,000 after purchasing an additional 76,378 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 2.3% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,096,049 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $43,546,000 after purchasing an additional 24,710 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,154,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.41% of the company's stock.

About Sociedad Quimica y Minera

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.

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