Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $104.03, but opened at $107.00. Albemarle shares last traded at $104.72, with a volume of 242,616 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.47.

Albemarle Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $12.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.21 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.64.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALB. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth $202,000. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 40.2% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 5,645 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 40.6% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 1,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 544.9% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 9,151 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after acquiring an additional 7,732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 116.1% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,759 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.