Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Shares Down 0.6%

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) traded down 0.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $97.31 and last traded at $97.36. 488,004 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 3,079,977 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.95.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Albemarle from $170.00 to $127.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their target price on Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Bank of America raised Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.16.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.3 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The company has a market capitalization of $11.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.57.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $10.32 earnings per share. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Albemarle’s 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 dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total value of $114,251.79. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value of $114,251.79. Following the transaction, 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. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Albemarle by 0.5% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 20,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,720,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Regatta Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. USCF Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 45.0% during the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $2,644,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.