Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 488,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,756 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $19,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 396.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 40.1% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 6,315.8% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,219 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America cut their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $47.00 to $38.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $62.80 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Berenberg Bank started coverage on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.06.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Performance

SQM stock opened at $40.44 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.66. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 12-month low of $32.24 and a 12-month high of $64.62. The firm has a market cap of $11.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.87 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.24). Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a net margin of 0.48% and a return on equity of 23.15%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post -0.88 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA produces and distributes specialty plant nutrients, iodine derivatives, lithium derivatives, potassium chloride and sulfate, industrial chemicals, and other products and services. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers.