Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Acquires New Position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 849 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the fourth quarter worth about $5,619,000. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,071,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,954,000 after buying an additional 18,748 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the fourth quarter worth about $642,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 121.9% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 61,519 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,236,000 after buying an additional 33,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 86.5% during the fourth quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 34,244 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after buying an additional 15,879 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $55.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.50.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Down 2.6%

Sociedad Quimica y Minera stock opened at $35.80 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.39 and its 200-day moving average is $37.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.88. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 1 year low of $29.36 and a 1 year high of $45.89. The company has a market cap of $10.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 1.03.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.15). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 11.71% and a net margin of 13.45%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($3.04) EPS. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera 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.