Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Cut to Hold at 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 research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $79.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. HSBC raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group set a $79.00 price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sociedad Quimica y Minera presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.63.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

SQM 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. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 12 month low of $29.36 and a 12 month high of $86.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 3.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.37.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.11). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 9.69%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 138.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.