Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Shares Down 1.3%

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) traded down 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $91.67 and last traded at $92.40. 265,709 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 3,041,306 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Mizuho raised 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. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $188.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.65.

Albemarle Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $107.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $10.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.57.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The firm’s revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $10.32 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. This is an increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 58.18%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. MONECO Advisors LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 4,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 430.7% in the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 43,119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,230,000 after acquiring an additional 34,994 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 22.5% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 190,526 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,100,000 after acquiring an additional 35,003 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank boosted its position in Albemarle by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 10,667 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.