StockNews.com Upgrades Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) to Sell

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

SQM has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $62.80 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.06.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Trading Up 2.1 %

SQM stock traded up $0.80 on Thursday, hitting $39.54. 981,665 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,174,762. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has a twelve month low of $32.24 and a twelve month high of $64.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 359.45 and a beta of 1.03.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.24). Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 0.48%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile will post -0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,144,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,407,000 after acquiring an additional 165,370 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc lifted its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,204,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,668,000 after buying an additional 31,955 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,019,368 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $50,112,000 after buying an additional 86,811 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 41.6% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 899,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,661,000 after buying an additional 264,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 887,342 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,984,000 after buying an additional 24,999 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile 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.