Renaissance Technologies LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 602.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 502,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 430,900 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $40,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 4th quarter worth $69,257,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 87.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,239,588 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,278,000 after purchasing an additional 578,175 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,089,638 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $143,767,000 after purchasing an additional 413,246 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,973,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 62.7% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 799,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $54,985,000 after buying an additional 307,983 shares during the period. 12.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SQM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.58.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:SQM opened at $68.90 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $75.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.75. The company has a market capitalization of $19.68 billion, a PE ratio of 24.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.97. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 1-year low of $35.67 and a 1-year high of $98.00.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 16th. The basic materials company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 15.38% and a return on equity of 11.99%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter. On average, equities analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera 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.