Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Shares Purchased by Hedges Asset Management LLC

Hedges Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 30,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the quarter. Hedges Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $1,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 242.5% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,977 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 26,889 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 8.4% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,144,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $105,407,000 after purchasing an additional 165,370 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 31.8% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 121,425 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,969,000 after purchasing an additional 29,263 shares in the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the second quarter worth approximately $2,547,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 4.9% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 418,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,050,000 after purchasing an additional 19,649 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Performance

NYSE:SQM opened at $40.83 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $39.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.65. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 1-year low of $32.24 and a 1-year high of $64.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $11.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 371.18 and a beta of 1.02.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.24). The business 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 period last year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post -0.92 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on SQM shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $62.80 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $47.00 to $38.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. They set a “hold” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.69.

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.