Albemarle Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:ALB)

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 32,597 put options on the company. This is an increase of 156% compared to the typical volume of 12,738 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.74.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Albemarle stock traded down $1.06 during trading on Thursday, reaching $88.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 732,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,845,571. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.22. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $71.97 and a 1-year high of $153.21. The company has a market cap of $10.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.31 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -9.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Albemarle by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,660,000 after acquiring an additional 282,194 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 28.7% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,839,000 after purchasing an additional 157,319 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 392.6% during the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 7,916 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 6,309 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 32.4% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 521,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,395,000 after buying an additional 127,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Albemarle by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 423,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,067,000 after buying an additional 93,718 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is 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.