Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Short Interest Down 24.6% in December

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,888,156 shares, a drop of 24.6% from the December 15th total of 2,502,617 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,076,533 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,076,533 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 153.0% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 969 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera stock traded down $1.96 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $77.62. 1,707,711 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,165,755. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.42 and a beta of 0.98. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a twelve month low of $29.36 and a twelve month high of $83.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.29.

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). The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 12.12% and a return on equity of 9.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SQM. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Friday, October 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $50.00 target price (down from $53.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Monday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 target price (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.41.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company 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.