Fox Run Management L.L.C. Acquires New Shares in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,310 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $866,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Balchem during the fourth quarter worth about $1,113,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Balchem by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,658,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Balchem during the fourth quarter worth about $871,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Balchem during the fourth quarter worth about $310,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its position in Balchem by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,313 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Balchem Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ BCPC opened at $161.17 on Monday. Balchem Co. has a 1-year low of $137.69 and a 1-year high of $186.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $164.71 and a 200-day moving average of $169.40. The firm has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 41.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.08). Balchem had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 11.37%. The company had revenue of $240.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.96 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Sidoti upgraded Balchem to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Balchem in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem 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.