StockNews.com Upgrades Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) to “Hold”

Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Separately, UBS Group increased their target price on Intrepid Potash from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Intrepid Potash Stock Down 6.6 %

IPI traded down $1.90 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.89. The company had a trading volume of 296,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,319. The stock has a market cap of $357.03 million, a P/E ratio of -8.03 and a beta of 2.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.98. Intrepid Potash has a 52 week low of $17.52 and a 52 week high of $29.75.

Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $57.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.57 million. Intrepid Potash had a negative return on equity of 1.32% and a negative net margin of 16.86%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.53) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Intrepid Potash will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Intrepid Potash

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Intrepid Potash by 5.0% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 17,997 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Intrepid Potash by 7.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 31,732 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 2,275 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Intrepid Potash by 5.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 46,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after buying an additional 2,306 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intrepid Potash during the third quarter valued at $142,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Intrepid Potash by 14.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 51,775 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after buying an additional 6,632 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.13% of the company’s stock.

About Intrepid Potash

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.