Jump Financial LLC Buys Shares of 7,771 Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

Key Points

• Jump Financial LLC has made a new investment of approximately $309,000 in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. by acquiring 7,771 shares in the first quarter.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings revealed an EPS of $0.31, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.52, with a 19.4% year-over-year revenue decline.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with price targets ranging between $36.50 and $55.00, and an average rating classified as a "Hold."

Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,771 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQM. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 367.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 293,799 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,683,000 after buying an additional 231,010 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 214,169 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $7,787,000 after buying an additional 62,121 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 87.6% during the 4th quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 18,200 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $662,000 after buying an additional 8,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $416,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SQM. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note 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 research note on Monday, July 28th. 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 research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Itau BBA Securities began coverage on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Thursday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.08.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

NYSE SQM traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $45.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,429,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,581,331. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 52-week low of $29.36 and a 52-week high of $47.51. The company has a market cap of $13.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.49 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company Profile

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.