Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

SQM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sociedad Quimica y Minera currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.63.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

Shares of SQM stock opened at $76.96 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $21.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.54 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 3.27 and a quick ratio of 2.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $75.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.37. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a one year low of $29.36 and a one year high of $86.13.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 9.69%. The business’s revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 138.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company Profile

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.