Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC – Get Rating) in a research note released on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Separately, HC Wainwright lowered their price objective on shares of Balchem from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, February 27th.

Balchem Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ BCPC opened at $124.17 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $126.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.83. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.58 and a beta of 0.70. Balchem has a 12 month low of $110.15 and a 12 month high of $143.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.81.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.08). Balchem had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 10.48%. The company had revenue of $232.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Balchem will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Balchem

In other Balchem news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.36, for a total value of $299,828.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $707,072.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Balchem news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 2,300 shares of Balchem stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.36, for a total value of $299,828.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,424 shares in the company, valued at $707,072.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David B. Fischer sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.01, for a total value of $381,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,193,335.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Balchem

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of Balchem by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 15,652 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,903,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Balchem by 45.4% in the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 13,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,625,000 after acquiring an additional 4,171 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Balchem by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,946 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Balchem by 67.8% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 17,465 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,123,000 after purchasing an additional 7,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. increased its position in Balchem by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 205,714 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,026,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.29% of the company’s stock.

Balchem Company Profile

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Balchem Corp. provides marketing of specialty performance ingredients and products. It operates through the following segments: Human Nutrition and Health, Animal Nutrition and Health, Specialty Products and Industrial Products. The Human Nutrition and Health segment supplies ingredients in the food and beverage industry, providing customized solutions in powder, solid and liquid flavor delivery systems, spray dried emulsified powder systems, and cereal systems.