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

Polymer Capital Management HK LTD bought a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 19,555 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,345,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SQM. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 81.9% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,911,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $82,163,000 after acquiring an additional 860,984 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 62.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,676,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,051,000 after acquiring an additional 644,129 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 277.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 817,223 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,124,000 after acquiring an additional 600,975 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,828,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake 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 valued at $53,278,000 after acquiring an additional 578,175 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

Shares of SQM stock opened at $84.09 on Friday. 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 2.01. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 1-year low of $31.90 and a 1-year high of $98.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $84.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.08.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 16th. The basic materials company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 15.38% and a return on equity of 11.99%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $1.0295 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SQM has been the topic of several analyst reports. CLSA raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $100.00 price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.50.

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.