Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) Stock Price Down 5.5% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) fell 5.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $38.01 and last traded at $37.81. 785,092 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 1,014,380 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SQM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $55.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.56.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $11.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 2.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $38.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.50.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 11.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,249 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 11,020 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 60.4% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,307 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 4,256 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 47.1% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 216.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,891 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,978 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

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.