Insight Folios Inc Increases Stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Insight Folios Inc lifted its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 70,789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,410 shares during the quarter. Insight Folios Inc’s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $2,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SQM. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 264,324 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the second quarter worth about $8,592,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 8.4% in 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 buying an additional 165,370 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC boosted its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 18.9% during the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 612,538 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,961,000 after buying an additional 97,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,019,368 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $50,112,000 after buying an additional 86,811 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $55.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America decreased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $62.80 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.69.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SQM opened at $40.83 on Monday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $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 firm has a market capitalization of $11.66 billion, a PE ratio of 371.18 and a beta of 1.02.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 0.48% and a return on equity of 23.15%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post -0.92 EPS for the current year.

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.