Hedges Asset Management LLC Has $1.20 Million Stock Position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Hedges Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Hedges Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $1,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 803.4% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the first quarter worth approximately $46,000. CX Institutional bought a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 1st quarter worth $74,000. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, Greenline Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 4th quarter valued at $102,000. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on SQM shares. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $55.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Two investment 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.14.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

Shares of SQM stock opened at $35.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.69 and a 200-day moving average of $37.13. The company has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a one year low of $29.36 and a one year high of $45.89.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.45% and a return on equity of 11.71%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($3.04) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research 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.