Short Interest in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Drops By 10.6%

Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 416,700 shares, a decrease of 10.6% from the January 15th total of 465,900 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 129,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BCPC shares. StockNews.com upgraded Balchem from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Balchem from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Balchem

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC lifted its stake in Balchem by 63.7% during the 4th quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 35,069 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,438,000 after acquiring an additional 13,642 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Balchem by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 458,986 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $80,782,000 after acquiring an additional 7,721 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Balchem by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,893 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,467 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Balchem during the 4th quarter valued at $503,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Balchem by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 928,904 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $163,514,000 after purchasing an additional 27,979 shares during the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Balchem Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of BCPC traded down $2.46 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $161.32. The stock had a trading volume of 120,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 125,672. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.32. Balchem has a 12 month low of $137.69 and a 12 month high of $186.03. The company has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.37, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.69.

Balchem Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This is a boost from Balchem's previous annual dividend of $0.79. This represents a yield of 0.4%. 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.