Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Announces Annual Dividend of $0.87

Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) announced an annual dividend on Wednesday, December 11th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a dividend of 0.87 per share by the basic materials company on Friday, January 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. This is a boost from Balchem’s previous annual dividend of $0.79.

Balchem has raised its dividend payment by an average of 10.9% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Balchem has a payout ratio of 16.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Balchem to earn $4.64 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.79 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.0%.

Balchem Trading Up 1.5 %

Balchem stock traded up $2.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $178.05. 51,878 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 109,389. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.15, a PEG ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $174.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.73. Balchem has a fifty-two week low of $133.82 and a fifty-two week high of $186.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BCPC shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Balchem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Balchem from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th.

Balchem Company 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.