Chase Investment Counsel Corp Raises Stock Position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 29.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,640 shares during the quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 153.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 44.4% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,539 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 16,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $985,000 after buying an additional 3,742 shares in the last quarter. Shariaportfolio Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,078,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 91,073 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,434,000 after buying an additional 5,108 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Price Performance

SQM traded up $2.90 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $47.04. 628,638 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,425,175. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $13.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 1.07. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 52-week low of $38.50 and a 52-week high of $81.50.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.51). The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a return on equity of 37.86% and a net margin of 26.95%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SQM has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $52.00 to $62.80 in a report on Monday, April 8th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.18.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA produces and distributes specialty plant nutrients, iodine derivatives, lithium derivatives, potassium chloride and sulfate, industrial chemicals, and other products and services. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers.