Castle Hook Partners LP Takes Position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

Castle Hook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,006,637 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,257,000. Sociedad Quimica y Minera comprises 0.3% of Castle Hook Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Castle Hook Partners LP owned about 0.35% of Sociedad Quimica y Minera at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SQM opened at $83.07 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $23.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 52 week low of $31.90 and a 52 week high of $98.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.64.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 16th. The basic materials company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 15.38%. Equities research analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $1.0295 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s payout ratio is currently 92.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on SQM. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Friday, March 27th. CLSA raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Zacks Research cut Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $100.00 price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.50.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Profile

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.