Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Short Interest Down 12.7% in March

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,810,000 shares, a drop of 12.7% from the February 28th total of 7,800,000 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.1 days.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Price Performance

SQM stock opened at $40.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.15, a PEG ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has a 12-month low of $32.24 and a 12-month high of $51.90.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.10). Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a negative net margin of 6.74% and a positive return on equity of 16.12%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 19.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 109,286 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,555,000 after buying an additional 18,001 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 13,148 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 2,128 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 1,076.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,726 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 17,134 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 152,048 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,337,000 after purchasing an additional 20,616 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 5.0% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 99,854 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,162,000 after purchasing an additional 4,743 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

About Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

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.