Rakuten Securities Inc. Increases Position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SQM. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the fourth quarter valued at about $120,395,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 804,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,267,000 after purchasing an additional 177,898 shares during the last quarter. Peregrine Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,505,000. Concentric Capital Strategies LP purchased a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,213,000. Finally, Moneda S.A. Administradora General de Fondos grew its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 493.7% during the fourth quarter. Moneda S.A. Administradora General de Fondos now owns 119,691 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,352,000 after purchasing an additional 99,532 shares during the period. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Performance

Shares of SQM opened at $41.35 on Thursday. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 52-week low of $32.24 and a 52-week high of $51.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a current ratio of 2.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.08.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Research analysts forecast that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post -1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.56.

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.