Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Short Interest Update

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,392,213 shares, a drop of 13.2% from the January 15th total of 1,604,369 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,619,734 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,619,734 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SQM opened at $72.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $20.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.57 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $73.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.99. 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 twelve month low of $29.36 and a twelve month high of $86.13.

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

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SQM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 price objective (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Citigroup cut shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $51.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.79.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,432,000. RWC Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 369.9% during the third quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 1,113,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,871,000 after buying an additional 876,754 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 81.9% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,911,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $82,163,000 after buying an additional 860,984 shares during the period. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 112.4% in the 3rd quarter. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC now owns 1,232,662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,980,000 after buying an additional 652,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 62.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,676,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,051,000 after acquiring an additional 644,129 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.