Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on BCPC. Sidoti raised Balchem to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. HC Wainwright set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Balchem and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

Balchem Stock Up 2.3%

Balchem stock opened at $167.11 on Tuesday. Balchem has a twelve month low of $145.70 and a twelve month high of $186.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.99. The firm has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 42.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $161.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.37.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $250.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.70 million. Balchem had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 13.47%. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Balchem will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Balchem

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BCPC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Balchem by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,961,487 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $645,703,000 after acquiring an additional 42,693 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 9,600 shares during the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Balchem by 1.4% during the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 830,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $137,915,000 after purchasing an additional 11,067 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Balchem by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 576,994 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $94,047,000 after purchasing an additional 79,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Balchem by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 509,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $83,044,000 after purchasing an additional 50,504 shares during the period. 87.91% of the stock is 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.