Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Trading Up 3.2%

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) traded up 3.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $102.56 and last traded at $100.56. 543,594 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 3,060,494 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Vertical Research lowered shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, March 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $157.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.78.

Albemarle Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.57.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business posted $10.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.18%.

Insider Activity

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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the firm’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 Trading of Albemarle

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2,942.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 21,400.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 214 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.