Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on the stock from $35.00 to $31.00. The stock had previously closed at $39.63, but opened at $38.57. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a hold rating on the stock. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile shares last traded at $38.30, with a volume of 220,720 shares trading hands.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $62.80 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Berenberg Bank started coverage on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $47.00 to $38.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $55.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.06.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SQM. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $560,000. MML Investors Services LLC bought a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $202,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 265,545 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,068,000 after acquiring an additional 21,778 shares in the last quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP bought a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,213,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $834,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 347.82 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.61 and a 200-day moving average of $40.76.

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

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.