FORA Capital LLC Buys Shares of 14,426 Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake of 14,426 shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE: SQM), valued at approximately $573,000, during the first quarter.
• Institutional investors collectively own 12.41% of Sociedad Quimica y Minera's stock, with notable increases from firms like White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors and GAMMA Investing.
• For the recent quarter, Sociedad Quimica y Minera reported $0.31 earnings per share, missing estimates and showing a 19.4% year-over-year revenue decline.

FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,426 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $573,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 86.5% during the 4th quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 34,244 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,245,000 after buying an additional 15,879 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 4,834.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,296 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $608,000 after buying an additional 14,986 shares during the period. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 1st quarter worth approximately $74,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 1st quarter worth approximately $274,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 384,887 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $15,292,000 after buying an additional 69,309 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company's stock.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SQM opened at $45.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $39.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.68. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 1-year low of $29.36 and a 1-year high of $47.51. The stock has a market cap of $13.06 billion, a PE ratio of 27.38 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on SQM. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $36.50 to $43.50 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Two 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 MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Quimica y Minera presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $43.10.

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.

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