Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

Separately, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Balchem in a research note on Monday.

Balchem Trading Down 0.4 %

Balchem stock opened at $172.00 on Tuesday. Balchem has a 1 year low of $137.69 and a 1 year high of $186.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $162.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.48. The firm has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.99.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $240.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.96 million. Balchem had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 11.37%. On average, research analysts predict that Balchem will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Balchem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This is an increase from Balchem’s previous annual dividend of $0.79. This represents a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Balchem’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Balchem

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BCPC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Balchem by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,961,487 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $645,703,000 after purchasing an additional 42,693 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Balchem by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,234,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $217,224,000 after purchasing an additional 12,006 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Balchem by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,175,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $206,900,000 after buying an additional 20,360 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Balchem by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 938,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $153,000,000 after buying an additional 9,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Balchem by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 819,746 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $133,615,000 after buying an additional 39,877 shares during the period. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Balchem Company Profile

Balchem Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets specialty performance ingredients and products for the nutritional, food, pharmaceutical, animal health, medical device sterilization, plant nutrition, and industrial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Human Nutrition and Health, Animal Nutrition and Health, and Specialty Products.