Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM is RWC Asset Management LLP’s 9th Largest Position

RWC Asset Management LLP raised its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 369.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,113,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 876,754 shares during the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera comprises approximately 2.3% of RWC Asset Management LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. RWC Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $47,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 5.4% during the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 118,007 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,162,000 after acquiring an additional 6,087 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC bought a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,678,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the second quarter worth $776,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 41.4% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 191,785 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,764,000 after acquiring an additional 56,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 46.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 184,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,522,000 after purchasing an additional 58,394 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on SQM. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Friday, October 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $41.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group set a $79.00 price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 price objective (up from $45.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $51.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.25.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

NYSE SQM opened at $77.76 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $63.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.75. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 52 week low of $29.36 and a 52 week high of $78.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.49 and a beta of 0.98.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 12.12% and a return on equity of 9.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th were issued a dividend of $0.1236 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 30th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s payout ratio is currently 6.56%.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA (NYSE: SQM) is a leading global producer of specialty chemicals and minerals headquartered in Santiago, Chile. The company focuses on the extraction and processing of key inputs for the agricultural, industrial and high‐tech sectors. Its core business activities include the mining of lithium, potassium and iodine, as well as the manufacture of value‐added products derived from these raw materials.

SQM’s product portfolio spans lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide used in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems; potassium chloride and potassium nitrate fertilizers designed for precision agriculture; and iodine and its derivatives for pharmaceutical, food and electronics applications.