Polymer Capital Management HK LTD Takes $1.35 Million Position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

Polymer Capital Management HK LTD purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 19,555 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,345,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 138.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on SQM shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.50.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Up 4.5%

Shares of NYSE:SQM opened at $84.09 on Friday. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 12 month low of $31.90 and a 12 month high of $98.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $84.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.08. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $24.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.95.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last released its 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 for the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.0295 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.98%.

About Sociedad Quimica y Minera

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.