Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) Stock Price Down 3.6% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) dropped 3.6% on Monday after The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on the stock from $54.50 to $46.50. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile traded as low as $42.80 and last traded at $43.36. Approximately 447,472 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 1,422,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.99.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. TheStreet cut shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.18.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC increased its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 40.1% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 153.8% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 133.8% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the third quarter valued at $63,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Trading Up 1.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.64. The stock has a market cap of $12.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 1.07.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.51). Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 37.86%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA produces and distributes specialty plant nutrients, iodine derivatives, lithium derivatives, potassium chloride and sulfate, industrial chemicals, and other products and services. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers.