Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) Given New $55.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) had its price target lowered by Jefferies Financial Group from $62.80 to $55.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on SQM. Bank of America decreased 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. They set a hold rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $55.65.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Performance

SQM stock opened at $38.24 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.01. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has a 12-month low of $32.24 and a 12-month high of $64.62. The firm has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.51, a P/E/G ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.24). Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a return on equity of 30.74% and a net margin of 6.25%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SQM. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 242.5% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,977 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 26,889 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management grew its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 11,481 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 1,490.9% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 87,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,269,000 after acquiring an additional 82,000 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,144,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,407,000 after acquiring an additional 165,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 121,425 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,969,000 after acquiring an additional 29,263 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.