Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Short Interest Update

Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 416,700 shares, a decline of 10.6% from the January 15th total of 465,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 129,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Balchem

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Balchem by 93.8% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Balchem during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Balchem in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in Balchem in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Balchem during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on BCPC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Balchem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Balchem from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Balchem Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BCPC traded up $1.68 during trading on Monday, reaching $164.82. 131,072 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 114,008. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $163.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.53. Balchem has a 1-year low of $137.69 and a 1-year high of $186.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Balchem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Balchem’s previous annual dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Balchem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.39%.

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.