State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Decreases Stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 24.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 63,774 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 21,162 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $2,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQM. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,144,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,407,000 after purchasing an additional 165,370 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 2.7% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,204,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,668,000 after purchasing an additional 31,955 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 9.3% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,019,368 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $50,112,000 after buying an additional 86,811 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 41.6% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 899,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,661,000 after buying an additional 264,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 887,342 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,984,000 after buying an additional 24,999 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 topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective 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 report on Monday, August 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price 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 report on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $47.00 to $38.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.69.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Up 3.6 %

SQM opened at $38.38 on Thursday. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 52 week low of $32.24 and a 52 week high of $64.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $10.96 billion, a PE ratio of 348.91 and a beta of 1.03.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post -0.92 EPS 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.