Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE:IPI) Short Interest Up 7.4% in December

Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE:IPI) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 241,100 shares, a growth of 7.4% from the December 15th total of 224,400 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 95,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Insider Transactions at Intrepid Potash

In other news, major shareholder Robert P. Jornayvaz III sold 3,557 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $88,925.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 129,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,230,750. This represents a 2.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 401,097 shares of company stock worth $10,189,635. Company insiders own 18.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intrepid Potash

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Intrepid Potash by 3.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 737,538 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,281,000 after acquiring an additional 26,696 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Intrepid Potash by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 231,594 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,560,000 after buying an additional 1,732 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Intrepid Potash by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 227,169 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,402 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Intrepid Potash by 8.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 184,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,319,000 after acquiring an additional 14,968 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in Intrepid Potash during the third quarter worth about $3,100,000. 56.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Intrepid Potash Stock Performance

IPI traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.50. 83,142 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 85,305. Intrepid Potash has a 1-year low of $17.52 and a 1-year high of $29.75. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $25.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.48.

Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.25). Intrepid Potash had a negative return on equity of 1.32% and a negative net margin of 16.86%. The company had revenue of $57.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.53) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Intrepid Potash will post -0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on IPI. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Intrepid Potash from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Intrepid Potash from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Intrepid Potash Company Profile

Intrepid Potash, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the extraction and production of the potash in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Potash, Trio, and Oilfield Solutions. The company offers muriate of potash for various markets, such as agricultural market as a fertilizer input; the industrial market as a component in drilling and fracturing fluids for oil and gas wells, as well as an input to other industrial processes; and the animal feed market as a nutrient supplement.