Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Given New $93.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at Scotiabank from $105.00 to $93.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector outperform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Scotiabank’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 39.29% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.58.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

NYSE SQM traded down $2.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $66.77. 184,096 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,290,192. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 1 year low of $35.67 and a 1 year high of $98.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.97.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 16th. The basic materials company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 15.38% and a return on equity of 11.99%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 7,083.3% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 289,701 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $19,931,000 after acquiring an additional 285,668 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 649,528 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,688,000 after purchasing an additional 27,035 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 4th quarter valued at $9,801,000. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 4th quarter valued at $19,488,000. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 420,262 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,914,000 after purchasing an additional 27,230 shares during the period. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA (NYSE: SQM) is a leading global producer of specialty chemicals and minerals headquartered in Santiago, Chile. The company focuses on the extraction and processing of key inputs for the agricultural, industrial and high‐tech sectors. Its core business activities include the mining of lithium, potassium and iodine, as well as the manufacture of value‐added products derived from these raw materials.

SQM’s product portfolio spans lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide used in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems; potassium chloride and potassium nitrate fertilizers designed for precision agriculture; and iodine and its derivatives for pharmaceutical, food and electronics applications.