Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) Shares Gap Up to $44.14

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $44.14, but opened at $45.79. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile shares last traded at $46.63, with a volume of 238,518 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SQM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $54.50 to $46.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.18.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a PE ratio of 6.68 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.39.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.51). Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 37.86%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $39,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 153.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 133.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $63,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.