Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Trading Up 1.6%

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)’s share price was up 1.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $93.47 and last traded at $92.35. Approximately 545,914 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 3,028,592 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on ALB shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Albemarle from $159.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $157.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.65.

Albemarle Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $107.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.06 billion, a PE ratio of 33.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.84.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $10.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 58.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle 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 owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the business’s 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 owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the company’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 value of $194,950.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 128.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,076,357 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,022,420,000 after purchasing an additional 3,979,885 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 176.6% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,588,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $209,333,000 after purchasing an additional 3,662,117 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $377,341,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,185,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $749,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667,164 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,800,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $838,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396,624 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.