Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Short Interest Down 24.6% in December

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,888,156 shares, a decrease of 24.6% from the December 15th total of 2,502,617 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,076,533 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,076,533 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on SQM. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 price target (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Friday, October 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $41.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.41.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Down 2.5%

NYSE SQM opened at $77.62 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a fifty-two week low of $29.36 and a fifty-two week high of $83.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.29. The stock has a market cap of $22.15 billion, a PE ratio of 42.42 and a beta of 0.98.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.79% and a net margin of 12.12%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SQM. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 138.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the third quarter valued at $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

About Sociedad Quimica y Minera

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.