Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Shares Purchased by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,649 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 923 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 803.4% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 104.0% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,128 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 1,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SQM. StockNews.com raised Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.56.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Performance

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile stock opened at $45.47 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $39.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.99 billion, a PE ratio of -40.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a current ratio of 2.94. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a one year low of $32.24 and a one year high of $51.90.

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

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Company 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.