BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Purchases Shares of 80,000 Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

Key Points

• BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. acquired 80,000 shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. ($SQM) during the first quarter, valued at about $3.18 million as per its recent 13F filing with the SEC.
• Sociedad Quimica y Minera's stock has experienced a 4.6% decline, and its latest earnings report showed an EPS of $0.31, missing estimates by $0.21.
• Institutional investors own 12.41% of the stock, with significant movements reported by Brooklyn Investment Group, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, and IFP Advisors Inc. in the same quarter.

BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. purchased a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 80,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $3,178,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,965,641 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $71,470,000 after acquiring an additional 18,255 shares in the last quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC raised its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 1,523,668 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $60,535,000 after acquiring an additional 61,100 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,096,049 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $43,546,000 after acquiring an additional 24,710 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,154,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,832,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Bank of America boosted their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $36.50 to $43.50 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Itau BBA Securities began coverage on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Thursday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.08.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of NYSE SQM traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $45.91. The company had a trading volume of 1,429,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,581,331. The company has a market capitalization of $13.11 billion, a PE ratio of 27.49 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 1.93. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $40.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.93. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 1-year low of $29.36 and a 1-year high of $47.51.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.08 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 11.29%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

About Sociedad Quimica y Minera

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.