JPMorgan Chase & Co. Downgrades Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) to Neutral

JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $44.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $55.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on SQM. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $62.80 to $55.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. They issued a hold rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. 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 for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $47.00 to $38.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $48.69.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Trading Down 5.1 %

Shares of SQM stock opened at $40.25 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $38.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.27. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has a twelve month low of $32.24 and a twelve month high of $64.62. The company has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 0.48%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile will post -0.88 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SQM. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 396.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 6,315.8% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,219 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA operates as a mining company worldwide. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers under Ultrasol, Qrop, Speedfol, Allganic, Ultrasoline, ProP, and Prohydric brands. It also provides iodine and its derivatives for use in medical, agricultural, industrial, and human and animal nutrition products comprising x-ray contrast media, biocides, antiseptics and disinfectants, pharmaceutical intermediates, polarizing films for LCD and LED screens, chemicals, organic compounds, and pigments, as well as added to edible salt to prevent iodine deficiency disorders.