Banco Santander S.A. Increases Stock Holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 96.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 35,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,562 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $1,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $120,395,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 804,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,267,000 after purchasing an additional 177,898 shares during the last quarter. North of South Capital LLP increased its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. North of South Capital LLP now owns 597,057 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,709,000 after purchasing an additional 95,564 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 8.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 265,545 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,068,000 after acquiring an additional 21,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 15.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 152,048 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,337,000 after acquiring an additional 20,616 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Performance

NYSE:SQM opened at $42.07 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $39.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.88. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 1-year low of $32.24 and a 1-year high of $51.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 2.05. The firm has a market cap of $12.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.08.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.10). Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a negative net margin of 6.74% and a positive return on equity of 16.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post -1.31 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SQM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.56.

About Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

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.