Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Short Interest Down 24.6% in December

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,888,156 shares, a drop of 24.6% from the December 15th total of 2,502,617 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,076,533 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,076,533 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $55.00 to $88.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Friday, October 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Citigroup downgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $51.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group set a $79.00 price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (down from $53.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Five equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.41.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE:SQM traded down $1.96 on Friday, reaching $77.62. 1,707,711 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,160,345. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 1-year low of $29.36 and a 1-year high of $83.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.82. The company’s 50 day moving average is $66.18 and its 200-day moving average is $50.91.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.06). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.79% and a net margin of 12.12%.The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th were paid a $0.1236 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 30th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s payout ratio is currently 6.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 138.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 5.6% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 6,354 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,669 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,905 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA (NYSE: SQM) is a leading global producer of specialty chemicals and minerals headquartered in Santiago, Chile. The company focuses on the extraction and processing of key inputs for the agricultural, industrial and high‐tech sectors. Its core business activities include the mining of lithium, potassium and iodine, as well as the manufacture of value‐added products derived from these raw materials.

SQM’s product portfolio spans lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide used in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems; potassium chloride and potassium nitrate fertilizers designed for precision agriculture; and iodine and its derivatives for pharmaceutical, food and electronics applications.