Leavell Investment Management Inc. Purchases 1,775 Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 28.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,775 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 61,700.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 617 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 153.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 969 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 728.0% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,242 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 1st quarter valued at about $96,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SQM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Itau BBA Securities initiated coverage on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Rothschild Redb raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $50.00 price target (down from $53.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Quimica y Minera presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.81.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera stock opened at $44.38 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.77. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 12-month low of $29.36 and a 12-month high of $47.51. The company has a market capitalization of $12.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 11.29% and a return on equity of 9.09%. The business’s revenue was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.