Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM Stock Position Decreased by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. by 6.6%, selling 22,480 shares and owning 318,454 shares by the end of the last quarter.
• Sociedad Quimica y Minera reported a quarterly revenue decline of 19.4% year-over-year, with $1.04 billion in revenue, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion.
• Several analysts have set new price targets for the stock, with a consensus target price of $45.08 and a majority rating it as either "Buy" or "Hold".

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 318,454 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 22,480 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned 0.11% of Sociedad Quimica y Minera worth $11,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 2nd quarter worth $67,759,000. Kopernik Global Investors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 4.2% during 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 boosted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 2.3% during 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 bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 1st quarter worth $39,154,000. Finally, RWC Asset Advisors US LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 1st quarter worth $37,170,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on SQM shares. Itau BBA Securities started coverage on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank decreased 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 report on Friday, May 30th. Zacks Research raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.08.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

SQM opened at $44.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49 and a beta of 1.07. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 1 year low of $29.36 and a 1 year high of $47.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.28.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 earned $0.75 earnings per share. Sociedad Quimica y Minera's quarterly revenue was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera 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.

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