Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Invests $559,000 in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $559,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SQM. Boston Common Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,767,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 33.4% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 71,429 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,070,000 after buying an additional 17,869 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 58.6% in the third quarter. Peregrine Investment Management Inc. now owns 219,150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,419,000 after buying an additional 80,970 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the third quarter valued at approximately $729,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $690,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

SQM opened at $77.05 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.08 and its 200 day moving average is $61.31. The company has a current ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $22.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.58 and a beta of 0.99. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 12-month low of $29.36 and a 12-month high of $86.13.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.11). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.69% and a net margin of 12.85%.The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 30th were issued a $0.1236 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 30th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s payout ratio is currently 5.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on SQM shares. UBS Group set a $79.00 target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Zacks Research raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. HSBC raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. Clarkson Capital restated a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 target price (up from $45.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sociedad Quimica y Minera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.63.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company 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.