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

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) shares were down 3.6% during mid-day trading 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 were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 1,422,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.99.

SQM has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com lowered Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. TheStreet lowered Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $62.80 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.18.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 153.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 360.2% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,155 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 44.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,539 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 3.2% during the third quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, KG&L Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the third quarter valued at about $361,000. Institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Up 1.8 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.64. 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 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Company Profile

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.