Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s (SQM) Hold Rating Reaffirmed at Jefferies Financial Group

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $50.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $53.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 16.10% from the stock’s previous close.

SQM has been the subject of several other reports. Itau BBA Securities assumed coverage on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America upped their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $36.50 to $43.50 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.79.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Down 3.5%

Shares of NYSE SQM opened at $43.07 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.19. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 52-week low of $29.36 and a 52-week high of $47.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.79 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) 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). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 11.29% and a return on equity of 9.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 1st quarter valued at $309,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 1st quarter valued at $573,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 4,834.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,296 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 14,986 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 346,259 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,757,000 after purchasing an additional 52,460 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 1st quarter valued at $74,000. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.