Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) Sets New 52-Week Low at $37.17

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $37.17 and last traded at $37.28, with a volume of 437448 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $38.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $54.50 to $46.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $62.80 in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut 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 note on Thursday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.33.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.97. The stock has a market cap of $10.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 258.69 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.72) by $2.52. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a return on equity of 30.74% and a net margin of 6.25%. Analysts predict that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post 0.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 24,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $913,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Autumn Glory Partners LLC grew its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 40.0% during the second quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 7,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 41.6% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 899,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,661,000 after buying an additional 264,324 shares during the period. WP Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 124.4% in the 2nd quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 24,289 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 13,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Outfitter Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Outfitter Financial LLC now owns 18,255 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

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.