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

Key Points

• Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from eleven brokerages, with one sell rating, seven hold ratings, and three buy ratings.
• BMO Capital Markets raised its price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00, giving it an "outperform" rating.
• The company reported earnings of $0.31 per share for the last quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.52, with a year-over-year revenue decline of 19.4%.

Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.8125.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SQM shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Zacks Research raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Rothschild Redb raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down previously from $53.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Monday, October 6th.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

SQM opened at $45.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.27 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. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.69.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. Sociedad Quimica y Minera's quarterly revenue was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $67,759,000. Kopernik Global Investors LLC grew its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 1,842,113 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $64,971,000 after acquiring an additional 318,445 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,460,104 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $51,498,000 after acquiring an additional 76,378 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,096,049 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $43,546,000 after acquiring an additional 24,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,154,000. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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