The Goldman Sachs Group Trims Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) Target Price to $46.50

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) had its price objective decreased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $54.50 to $46.50 in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on SQM. 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. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a sector outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $65.18.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Performance

NYSE SQM opened at $43.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.43 billion, a PE ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.74. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has a 1-year low of $38.50 and a 1-year high of $81.50.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.51). The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 37.86%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.03 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SQM. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 688.4% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,006,607 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,618,000 after acquiring an additional 878,933 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 354.2% in the 3rd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 824,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,211,000 after acquiring an additional 643,142 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 127.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,070,851 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,898,000 after acquiring an additional 599,728 shares during the period. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 4th quarter valued at $30,572,000. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 1,747,264 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $104,259,000 after acquiring an additional 474,000 shares during the period. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.