Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) Stock Price Up 5% – Time to Buy?

Intrepid Potash, Inc (NYSE:IPI)’s share price shot up 5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $40.25 and last traded at $40.5930. 148,311 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 260,596 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Freedom Capital raised shares of Intrepid Potash to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Intrepid Potash from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research upgraded Intrepid Potash from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Intrepid Potash in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.00.

Intrepid Potash Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $543.18 million, a P/E ratio of 20.43 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.59 and a 200-day moving average of $37.51.

Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.22). Intrepid Potash had a return on equity of 4.74% and a net margin of 8.94%.The company had revenue of $66.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.86 million. Equities research analysts expect that Intrepid Potash, Inc will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IPI. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Intrepid Potash during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,879,000. Gate City Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Intrepid Potash by 338.6% in the 4th quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 914,026 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,346,000 after purchasing an additional 705,638 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Intrepid Potash by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 734,413 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,413,000 after purchasing an additional 16,813 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Intrepid Potash by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 726,027 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,202,000 after purchasing an additional 81,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC raised its stake in Intrepid Potash by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC now owns 267,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,424,000 after purchasing an additional 47,781 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.13% of the company’s stock.

About Intrepid Potash

Intrepid Potash, Inc is a leading U.S.-based producer and marketer of potash and related specialty fertilizer products. The company’s primary business centers on potassium chloride, a key nutrient used in agricultural applications to enhance crop yield and quality. In addition to potash, Intrepid Potash produces magnesium chloride and sodium chloride, which serve a variety of markets including de-icing, dust control and industrial chemical production.

Intrepid Potash operates through a combination of solution mining, solar evaporation and conventional underground mining techniques.