Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) Hits New 1-Year High at $179.46

Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $179.46 and last traded at $179.46, with a volume of 21008 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $175.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BCPC shares. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Balchem from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com raised Balchem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th.

Balchem Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $157.11 and a 200 day moving average of $151.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The basic materials company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $239.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $234.12 million. Balchem had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 12.35%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Balchem Co. will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Balchem news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 1,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.45, for a total transaction of $297,934.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $753,407.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director David B. Fischer sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.98, for a total value of $764,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,378,196.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 1,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.45, for a total value of $297,934.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $753,407.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Balchem

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Balchem by 3.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,935,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $609,873,000 after acquiring an additional 144,423 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Balchem by 3.9% in the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,125,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $174,378,000 after acquiring an additional 42,172 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Balchem by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 767,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $114,123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,885 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Balchem by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 687,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $102,265,000 after purchasing an additional 11,629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Balchem by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 521,590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,587,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801 shares during the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.