NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile (SQM) - Get Report were falling 28.2% to $15.87 with heavy trading volume Wednesday following a report that three of the chemical company's board representatives have resigned.

The three board members from Canadian fertilizer company Potash (POT) resigned amidst a campaign financing scandal, according to Reuters. Potash CFO and SQM Vice Chairman Wayne Brownlee and directors Jose Maria Eyzqguirre and Alejandro Montero did not give reasons for their resignations.

Chilean authorities are currently investigating whether money from SQM and other companies in the country were siphoned to fund political campaigns. The investigation is largely concerned with money being siphoned to the right-wing UDI party, which has connections to the 1973-1990 Augusto Pinochet dictatorship.

SQM fired its CEO on Monday due to the investigation and said it will comply with demands to hand its tax information to the Chilean government's internal revenue service.

About 3.4 million shares of SQM were traded by 11:48 a.m. Wednesday, above the average trading volume of about 383,000 shares a day.

TheStreet Ratings team rates SOC QUIMICA Y MINERA DE CHI as a Hold with a ratings score of C. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate SOC QUIMICA Y MINERA DE CHI (SQM) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed -- some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its increase in net income, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and expanding profit margins. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including disappointing return on equity and a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has exceeded that of the S&P 500 and greatly outperformed compared to the Chemicals industry average. The net income increased by 13.1% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, going from $68.97 million to $78.00 million.
• The debt-to-equity ratio is somewhat low, currently at 0.80, and is less than that of the industry average, implying that there has been a relatively successful effort in the management of debt levels. Along with this, the company maintains a quick ratio of 2.87, which clearly demonstrates the ability to cover short-term cash needs.
• SOC QUIMICA Y MINERA DE CHI has improved earnings per share by 15.4% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. But, we feel it is poised for EPS growth in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, SOC QUIMICA Y MINERA DE CHI reported lower earnings of $1.13 versus $1.78 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($1.32 versus $1.13).
• SQM's stock share price has done very poorly compared to where it was a year ago: Despite any rallies, the net result is that it is down by 25.14%, which is also worse that the performance of the S&P 500 Index. Investors have so far failed to pay much attention to the earnings improvements the company has managed to achieve over the last quarter. Naturally, the overall market trend is bound to be a significant factor. However, in one sense, the stock's sharp decline last year is a positive for future investors, making it cheaper (in proportion to its earnings over the past year) than most other stocks in its industry. But due to other concerns, we feel the stock is still not a good buy right now.
• Current return on equity is lower than its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a clear sign of weakness within the company. In comparison to the other companies in the Chemicals industry and the overall market, SOC QUIMICA Y MINERA DE CHI's return on equity is significantly below that of the industry average and is below that of the S&P 500.
• You can view the full analysis from the report here: SQM Ratings Report