Park Avenue Securities LLC Increases Holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 23.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SQM. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 4.6% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 8,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 6.0% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 3.8% during the first quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 14,860 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 153.0% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 969 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 61,700.0% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on SQM. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $36.50 to $43.50 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Zacks Research raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Itau BBA Securities initiated coverage on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Quimica y Minera currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.08.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera stock opened at $43.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.01 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 12 month low of $29.36 and a 12 month high of $47.51. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.30.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 11.29%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Sociedad Quimica y Minera

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.