Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has received an average analyst rating of "Hold", with one sell, three hold, and three buy ratings from the covering brokerages.
• The company's stock price target averages at $45.08, with various analysts providing differing price targets, including a high of $55.00 from Itau BBA Securities.
• Sociedad Quimica y Minera reported a 19.4% decline in quarterly revenue year-over-year, missing analyst expectations of $1.08 billion with an actual revenue of $1.04 billion.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.0833.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SQM shares. Itau BBA Securities started coverage on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $36.50 to $43.50 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQM. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 5.6% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 6,354 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 8,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,315 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 14,860 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 153.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 969 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company's stock.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

NYSE:SQM opened at $42.90 on Wednesday. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a one year low of $29.36 and a one year high of $47.51. The company has a market cap of $12.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $42.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 1.93.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.21). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 11.29% and a return on equity of 9.09%. The company 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. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

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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