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

StockNews.com cut shares of Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday.

Balchem Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BCPC opened at $139.26 on Thursday. Balchem has a 12-month low of $110.74 and a 12-month high of $159.52. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.04. The company has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 41.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.02. Balchem had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 11.77%. The business had revenue of $228.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $234.66 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Balchem will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total transaction of $1,700,631.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,032,022.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Balchem news, CAO William A. Backus sold 15,000 shares of Balchem stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.73, for a total transaction of $2,320,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,183.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of Balchem stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total value of $1,700,631.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,032,022.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 76,630 shares of company stock worth $11,843,249 in the last ninety days. 1.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Balchem

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BCPC. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 123.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 165 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Balchem in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Balchem in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Balchem in the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Balchem in the 1st quarter worth about $69,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

About Balchem

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.