Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Trading Up 2.1%

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)’s stock price was up 2.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $92.69 and last traded at $92.36. Approximately 888,895 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 3,078,192 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ALB shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (down from $150.00) on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $152.53.

Albemarle Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.84. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.00. The company has a market cap of $11.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.95, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.57.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.18%.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total value of $194,950.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Albemarle by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 20,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,720,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Regatta Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. USCF Advisers LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 45.0% during the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 18,298 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,644,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.