Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. Acquires New Stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 919,538 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,432,000. Sociedad Quimica y Minera accounts for approximately 1.1% of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. owned approximately 0.32% of Sociedad Quimica y Minera at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the first quarter valued at approximately $309,000. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 1st quarter valued at $573,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 346,259 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,757,000 after purchasing an additional 52,460 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 2nd quarter valued at $776,000. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the first quarter worth $274,000. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

NYSE:SQM opened at $54.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.57 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $45.15 and a 200 day moving average of $40.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 1.93. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 1-year low of $29.36 and a 1-year high of $55.66.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SQM shares. Zacks Research raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Rothschild Redb raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.81.

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.