Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to “Neutral”

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) was downgraded by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. They presently have a $100.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 19.72% from the company’s current price.

SQM has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America increased their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. CLSA raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.50.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE SQM opened at $83.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.76. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $84.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.95. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a fifty-two week low of $29.36 and a fifty-two week high of $98.00. The company has a market cap of $23.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.31, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.95.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 16th. The basic materials company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 15.38%.The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP now owns 14,747 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,194,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,183,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 640,499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $51,842,000 after purchasing an additional 83,738 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 59.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 37,079 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,002,000 after purchasing an additional 5,467 shares during the last quarter. 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.