Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Trading Down 3.6%

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)’s stock price was down 3.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $94.88 and last traded at $96.66. Approximately 1,209,884 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 3,051,202 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $137.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $157.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.78.

Albemarle Stock Down 3.0 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $118.14 and a 200-day moving average of $123.97. 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 firm has a market cap of $11.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.61.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $10.32 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,979,885 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 176.6% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,588,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $209,333,000 after acquiring an additional 3,662,117 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $377,341,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,185,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $749,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its holdings 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 valued at $838,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396,624 shares during the last quarter. 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.