MFA Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,006 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 313 shares during the quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 396.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 6,315.8% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,219 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 204.9% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,061 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 47.1% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SQM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, October 11th. Berenberg Bank began coverage on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $62.80 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.69.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Price Performance

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile stock opened at $39.81 on Thursday. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 1 year low of $32.24 and a 1 year high of $64.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.86. The company has a market cap of $11.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.24). Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 0.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post -0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile 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.